Gregory Lee Manifold

Gregory Lee Manifold, 77, died on June 6, 2026, in Fort Wayne, IN. He was born in Elkhart, IN, in May 1949, second of five sons of Orrin A. Manifold and Rosemary (Cox) Manifold. During his life he lived in Elkhart, Gas City, North Manchester, Nappanee, Peru, Huntington, Greencastle, Muncie, North Webster, Indianapolis, and since 1980, Fort Wayne, all in Indiana; Athens, Greece; and Westfield and Chicago, both in Illinois.

He graduated from Huntington County Community High School, DePauw University, and Eastern Illinois University.

He met the love of his life, Terrance Patrick McCaffrey, in Henry’s Bar in Fort Wayne in October 1983, and they were together until Terry’s death in July 2014. They were married in June 2014, one week before Terry died.

As Shakespeare wrote in As You Like It, “one man in his time plays many parts.” In his career Gregory was a summer stock actor, youth director, college instructor in English, not for-profit consultant, farm hand on Biggs Farm in Westfield, Illinois, managing director of Historic Fort Wayne, director of marketing and acting president of Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne, director of development and interim director of Fort Wayne Museum of Art, and executive director of AIDS Task Force of Northeast Indiana, (now Positive Resource Connection).

He was a writer of letters, essays, plays, histories, and memoirs, lover of the English language, old-school liberal, dilettante art and art glass collector, community theatre actor, amateur gardener, proud South Side Fort Wayne resident, and founding member of the New Dawn Community, the Juan Bizarro Memorial Enclave and the South Side Garden Club.

Survivors include his many friends, Manifold brothers and sisters-in-law Cameron and Rebecca, and Alan and Lorraine; sister-in-law Gerry Golden (late husband Geoffrey); McCaffrey sisters-in-law Michelle (Allen) Deter, Julie (Larry Gehrig) McCaffrey, Amy (John) Van Dyke, and Molly Barrand; fourteen fabulous Manifold and McCaffrey nephews and nieces; eight amazing grand nephews and nieces; and six wonderful cousins and their families.

He was preceded in death by husband Terrance; older brother Roderick and sister-in-law Demetria; younger brother Geoffrey; nephew Darius Manifold; grand niece Avery Manifold; parents Orrin and Rosemary; Terry’s parents Robert and Virginia; grandparents on both sides; brother-in-law Tim McCaffrey; sister-in-law Adrienne Stengel; brother-in-law Jody Barrand, cousins James, Rob and Carol Manifold, Mark Cox and Ann Cox; all Manifold and Cox aunts and uncles; and friends and colleagues too numerous to mention.

Following cremation, he will be buried with Terrance in Lindenwood Cemetery, Fort Wayne, IN, in a private ceremony.

A Celebration of Life will be held from 2:00 – 5:00 pm. Saturday, August 1, 2026, at the Pearl Event Center, 228 West Main Street, Fort Wayne, IN 46802.

Memorial contributions may be made to Positive Resource Connection, 525 Oxford Street, Fort Wayne, IN 46806 or to Fort Wayne Museum of Art, 311 East Main Street, Fort Wayne, IN 46802.

Arrangements entrusted to D.O. McComb and Sons Foster Park Funeral Home, 6301 Fairfield Avenue, Fort Wayne, IN. To sign the online guestbook go to www.mccombandsons.com.