John H. Shoaff

John H. Shoaff, 83, of Fort Wayne, passed away on January 8, 2024, at his home. A three-term City Councilman, serving from 2004 to 2016, Shoaff was an architect and arts and parks advocate. Although he was as well known for his modesty as for his intellect, Shoaff’s memory will be centered on how well he brought strong planning and design standards to his hometown of Fort Wayne. He served as the President of the Headwaters Park Commission which oversaw the design and development of the downtown park. His steadfast guidance ensured that the park was developed from a viable plan, that it was properly funded, and later protected by the Headwaters Park Alliance for the first decades of its existence. The park’s design, created by New Haven native Eric Kuhn, won major architecture awards.

Shoaff also played leadership roles in the development of the downtown arts district that includes the Fort Wayne Museum of Art and the Arts United Center, designed by world famous architect Louis Kahn.

Prior to serving as a City Councilman at Large, Shoaff served as President of Board of Park Commissioners, the City Plan Commission, as President of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, a board member of Arts United, WBNI and the Heartland Chamber Chorale.

During his time on City Council, he was known as a strong advocate for the city’s parks, its neighborhoods, and its future, as well as a watchdog for spending and ethics in government. A Democrat, he often found himself as a centrist on the usually republican council.

Shoaff retired from the Council to write a book entitled Art, Vision, and Symmetry: The Hidden Geometry of Frank Lloyd Wright, released in August 2020. John lived for many years in the only Frank Lloyd Wright house in Fort Wayne, the Haynes House on North Washington Road and, in his book, he analyzes the ways Wright used geometry in his designs. The book led to new opportunities to present to conferences in Chicago and La Jolla, California. For the book, he taught himself neuroscience to understand the way the eye works to create a bridge between art and science.

He is survived by his wife, Julie Donnell. They met while working on the Headwaters Park project together and were married in September 1992. He was the oldest son of John Dryer Shoaff and Agnes Taylor Hanna. He is also survived by brothers, Thomas M. (Eunice) Shoaff and Robert N. Shoaff, as well as three nephews; five great-nephews; and a great-niece.

It is no accident that Shoaff served on the Fort Wayne Board of Park Commissioners prior to his time on Council. Shoaff’s grandfather Fred B. Shoaff was a member and President of that Board from 1922 until he died in 1961. His grandfather donated the land known today as Shoaff Park. His family traces back to the beginning of Fort Wayne’s history. Samuel Hanna, who settled in Fort Wayne in 1819 and one of the city’s founders, was Shoaff’s great-great-grandfather on his mother’s side. James Barnett, who settled in Fort Wayne in 1818, was his great-great-grandfather on his father’s side. Barnett and Hanna were partners in a trading post outside of the military fort. The pair built the first local gristmill. Hanna played an important part in getting the Wabash and Erie Canal and the railroads in Fort Wayne, which was essential for the area’s development.

A graduate of Northside High School, where he served on Student Council and theatre, John enjoyed helping Julie learn her lines for numerous local theatre productions and was a loyal audience member. Apart from his love of music and theater, Shoaff was a fabulous chef, an expert sailor and loved rowing a shell when spending time at the family’s summer home in Leland, MI. He was an enthusiastic traveler, and he and Julie loved New York City and attended the Chicago Lyric Opera regularly. He especially enjoyed the times when the couple went beyond tourism with long-term stays in Paris.

Shoaff graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts in political science in 1962. He completed one year at Harvard School of Law, before transferring to Yale where he received a master’s degree in architecture in 1969. He also studied at the Rhode Island School of Design. He was a member of Fort Wayne Quest Club, the Lake Leelanau Conservancy.

A Memorial Service for John will be held at 7:00 pm on Thursday, April 11, 2024 at Trinity Episcopal Church, 611 West Berry Street Fort Wayne, Indiana 46802.