Jack A. Stapleton

Jack A. Stapleton, 73, of Fort Wayne, passed away, Monday, June 25, 2012 after a 4 year battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). He was born on May 19, 1939 in Fort Wayne to the late Harry and Mary Jane (Gongaware) Stapleton. He worked for GTE as a telephone data technician before retiring in 1994 from Verizon. He continued to work contract jobs with other companies after retiring. He was a member at Risen Savior Lutheran Church, GTE retirees club, IBEW Local 723, and a former member of the Old Fort Model A club, and Wayne Township fire department. He served as director while implementing the Emergency 911 system for Sullivan County in Indiana.

Surviving family include his wife of 33 years, Rebecca L. “Becky” Grable Stapleton; children, Dennis (Betty) Stapleton of Waco, TX, Cynthia (Bernard) Hedrick of Huntington, Julie (Brian) Houser of Huntington, John Stapleton of Chester, CA, W. Dale (Lynn) Stapleton of Roanoke, step son, Thomas Grable of Marshall, IL; siblings, Gladys Franks, Dorothy Kehr, Marjorie Winn; 6 grandchildren, 3 great grandchildren, 3 step grandchildren, and 1 step great grandchild. Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother, Harry Stapleton Jr., and a sister, Helen Bland. A funeral service will be 10:30 am on Thursday, June 28, 2012 at Risen Savior Lutheran Church, 8010 West Jefferson Blvd. Visitation will also be from 3-8 pm on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 at Elzey-Patterson-Rodak Home for Funerals, 6810 Old Trail Rd., Fort Wayne. Burial will be in Covington Memorial Garden. Memorials may be made to Heartland Hospice, Heritage Pointe, ALS, or Risen Savior Lutheran Church.