Wayne Downs Obituary

Downs, Wayne Harrison Age 63, went to be with his Lord on December 9. He wanted to die of old age but didn't quite make it. He was thwarted in that effort after a 3-year gallant battle against pancreatic cancer. He was born January 25, 1953, in Crawfordsville, Indiana and is survived by his loving wife, Amy (Hoffman); 4 children, Tanner Riley-Downs, Christine Ford, Katie Dremon (Chris) and Timmy Ford; brothers, Frederick Downs Jr. and Marc Downs. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Elaine Duffy; his parents, Frederick Sr. and Helen Louise Downs; sister, Pamela Angotti; and brothers, Rex and Michael Downs. Wayne graduated from Wiley High School, Terre Haute, Indiana in 1971 and retired from the Union Pacific Railroad, Chicago in 2013. He had a passion for history, books, movies, the rivers and small towns. He also loved downtown Chicago with its history (and good bars!) and the plains and hidden beauty of Kansas. The distance between two places for him was never the shortest route, but how much history, back roads and small towns were in between, often adding hours and even days to a trip. Wayne was an avid talk radio listener and loved discussing politics and current events to anyone within earshot. He put together many a jigsaw puzzle and claimed to win at Scrabble most of the time (which is true!). He was especially proud of one of his accomplishments, riding his bicycle from Chicago to Washington, D.C. in 2009. He and his wife had a large garden and loved canning the "fruits" of their labor and sharing the produce with friends. Wayne's humor, cheerfulness and love of life were a delight to all who knew him. With his departure from this life, he will leave a void in many lives. He will be dearly missed but always remembered. He believed in Jesus Christ to the end. There will be no wake, service or funeral. In lieu of flowers, buy yourselves a good bottle of liquor and a make a toast "To Wayne, a man of honor and one helluva nice guy". Condolences to family and friends may be posted at northernindianafuneralcare.com. Memorial contributions may be made to the Rescue Mission (rescuemission.net) or Visiting Nurse & Hospice (vnfw.org) both of Fort Wayne.