RONALD WICHERN Obituary (1937 – 2021) – Fort Wayne, IN

RONALD LEE WICHERN, passed away Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021. Born in Fort Wayne on Aug. 2, 1937, he was the son of Harold and Helen Wichern. A graduate of South Side High School (Class of 1955), he attended Indiana University in Bloomington, majoring in education with a minor in social studies. He was a member of Delta Chi fraternity. Following graduation with a B.S. degree in 1955, Ron attended the Naval War College in Newport, R.I. He then served as an Engineering Officer on Destroyer Escorts and was stationed in Orange, Texas, and Warwick, R.I. Following discharge from the Navy, having reached the rank of Lieutenant JG, Ron accepted a teaching position in North Kingstown, R.I., for one year before moving back to Fort Wayne. His 30-year career in education as a social studies teacher for Fort Wayne Community Schools began in 1963. He taught at Snider High School and spent the bulk of his teaching career at Kekionga Middle School, where he also served as coach for both track/field and football. At Snider High School he taught social studies, coached the cross-country team, and led the Panthers track/field team to a state championship in 1974. For many summers he coached Wildcat Baseball. Ron earned an MS degree from University of St. Francis and an EdS degree from Purdue/Lafayette. He retired from teaching in 1993. In retirement, he and his wife Dianne lived for periods of time at Tippecanoe Lake and at Hot Springs Village in Arkansas. They moved to North Manchester in 2014 where Ron was an avid birdwatcher. He enjoyed Tin Caps games and granddaughter Bailey’s softball games. Sunday cookouts with family at Sechrist Lake were fun in the summers. Although Ron was a big St. Louis Cardinal and IU basketball fan, he loved all sports. He played golf, enjoyed fly fishing, boating, riverboat trips, his pet dogs, and reading. He was an active member of Kiwanis. Ron is survived by his wife of 41 years, Dianne; daughters, Angela King (Dominick McCann) and Wendy Wichern (Shawn Eckelbarger); grandchildren, Maxwell Eckelbarger and Bailey McCann; and foster daughter, Cherie Rumple. A celebration of life will be announced at a later date.