John Ross Gastineau

“Hard to believe Keith Richards is going to live longer than I will,” said John Ross Gastineau, 68, of Fort Wayne, before he died on May 23, 2020, of the effects of metastasized colon cancer. “Other lifestyle choices aside, Keith probably had the colonoscopy I should’ve had but didn’t.” Born August 23, 1951, Gastineau grew up in Rockville, Indiana, a son of the late Charles and Wilma (Pyle) Gastineau. He graduated from Wabash College, where he edited "The Bachelor," and earned his law degree from what is now the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, where he was the editor-in-chief of the "Indiana Law Journal." He practiced law in Fort Wayne, LaGrange, and northern Indiana for almost twenty-five years. He also was active in the management of two family-owned farms. Before he practiced law, Gastineau worked as a book editor; a newspaper reporter, photographer, and editor; a librarian; a corn detasseler; a janitor; and, perhaps ironically at this point, a grave digger. He wrote two novels, "The Judge’s Brief" and "Fourth Person No More," as well as short stories and essays and enjoyed making and looking at photographs. He also enjoyed traveling, particularly to Arizona and Australia, where his children and grandchildren live. For almost 50 years, Gastineau loved Jane Gastineau, his spouse, who survives. Other survivors are their children, Adam Gastineau and his spouse, Natalie Gastineau, of Canberra, Australia, and Clare Gastineau of Tucson, Arizona; their grandchildren, Sienna and Damien Gastineau of Canberra; and his sister, Gayla Breslauer, and her spouse, Dr. Gary Breslauer, of Westfield, Indiana. Gastineau’s brother, Gregg Gastineau, died before he did. Gastineau was grateful to Drs. E. Jon Brandenberger, Sreenivasa Nattam, Virendra Parikh, Mary Maluccio, and Sushil Jain and their staffs for their generous care and kindness. A memorial gathering to honor Gastineau's life will be held from 2:00 to 4:00 pm on Saturday, July 9, 2022, at D.O. McComb & Sons Maplewood Park Funeral Home, 4017 Maplecrest Road, Fort Wayne. If you wish to make a memorial gift, please give time or money to Stillwater Hospice (formerly known as Visiting Nurse), 5910 Homestead Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46814. They do great work.