John Nelson Pichon Jr.

John Nelson Pichon Jr., a loving husband, father, and entrepreneur passed away March 20, 2022. He had a great sense of humor and comradery that led to a life full of friendships. At his death, he was a resident at StoryPoint Assisted Living where his nickname was Mr. Wonderful. He was born July 2, 1930 to Bea & John Pichon in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The family moved to Orlando when he was in the eighth grade, and he could not believe his luck to be living so close to great fishing, trapping, and hunting. He graduated 1st in his class from Orlando High School. He went on to Indiana University where he graduated with a degree in Economics. He was then drafted into the Army during the Korean War and was stationed at Fort Bragg. After being honorably discharged, he returned to IU and completed a joint JD/MBA. While serving as a chaperon, He met Joan; they dated at IU and were married. He started his career at the IRS in the Estate Tax Division. He was soon recruited to Lincoln National Bank. During his tenure with the bank, he was given the opportunity to act as Trustee in Bankruptcy where he gained great experience in turning around troubled companies. Because of his success he was asked to join the Olive B Cole Foundation. John along with Maclyn Parker grew the Cole Foundation from $2 million to $39 million in assets while granting over 5% a year to scholarships and area not-for profits. John also partnered with Steve Williams to found Pichon & Williams. While he continued to perform estate work, he developed a passion for manufacturing and was an investor in many small companies, most notably Dot Group and Ex-Tech Plastics. John also taught accounting at IPFW when it was located downtown and served as Trustee of the school and helped move it to the current campus. He said that with foundations was the dessert of life, and he continued to be involved in the Cole Foundation and the Raker Foundation. A pivotal moment was when he found a drowned child; this led him to help start the Cole YMCA. Driving between Kendallville and Fort Wayne, he saw a need to improve the safety of Indiana Route 3 by expanding it to four lanes, so he leveraged a Cole Foundation commitment to get the project started. John loved being out in nature and was a Life Trustee of the Indiana Nature Conservancy. He was an avid fisherman and shared this passion with his daughters Laura and Emily who survived him along with a son-in-law Matt Paskus, grandson Ben Finkel, granddaughters Liz and Ali Paskus, brother Larry Pichon, and sister Wilma Rumsey. He cared for Joan during her long illness; she predeceased him in 2011. Memorials may be made to The Indiana Nature Conservancy Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at https://www.mccombandsons.com for the Pichon family.