Duane E. Ruckman

Duane Ruckman was strong willed, hardworking and loving. One could always go to Duane for advice and he had a great sense of humor. Duane was the rock of his family; he was very proud of his family and his great grin and phrase "Hey what do you say" will be missed.

The 1930's is mostly associated with the Great American Depression and President Franklin D. Roosevelt pledged to use the power of our government to make Americans' lives better, but there were many things going on in the 30's like the end of prohibition, the discovery of Pluto, air mail service across the Atlantic Ocean began, and the invention of 3M's Scotch Tape were just a few things. Duane E. Ruckman was born October 18, 1930 in Whitley County and was the son of Maurice and Winona (Miller) Ruckman.

He grew up on the family farm in Union Township. Duane found free time from his chores to play softball, basketball and the French horn. He graduated from Coesse High School with the Class of 1948. While attending Lake Chapel United Methodist Church in his youth, he met Gloria A. Routt and they would eventually fall in love and would be married on Christmas Day, December 25, 1951 as he served in the U.S. Air Force. Duane worked for over 20 years at WT Grants and retired at the age of 77 from Imperial Trophy. He was an avid coon hunter and was a lifetime member of the Whitley County Coon Hunters Club.

After retiring, he and Gloria traveled, enjoying a two weeklong trip out in the Western part of the United States to visit national parks including Yellowstone. Duane loved spending time with his family and took great pleasure at being there for his grandchildren's sporting events.

Duane E. Ruckman, 89, of Churubusco, Indiana, passed away at 1:04 a.m. Tuesday, February 18, 2020 at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne. He is survived by his loving children, Penny (Marvin) Olson of Elkhart, David (Teresa) Ruckman of Churubusco, Bryan (Gwynne) Ruckman of Columbia City and Rachel (Ned) Kahlenbeck of Churubusco, sister, Lola Ford of Fort Wayne; 12 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren and expecting three more; and one great-great-grandson. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Gloria Ruckman; brother, Lynn Ruckman; two grandsons; and one great-granddaughter.

A gathering of family and friends will be 3-7 pm Friday, March 6, 2020 at DeMoney-Grimes Funeral Home, 600 Countryside Drive, Columbia City. A memorial service will be 10:30 am Saturday, March 7, 2020 at the funeral home. Memorial gifts may be given in his memory to the Alzheimer's Association. Visit www.demoneygrimes.com to send Duane's family condolences online.