Wayne Dale Shafer

Wayne D. Shafer, age 72, of Crown Point, IN, passed away on Thursday, March 18, 2010, at St. Anthony Medical Center. Wayne is survived by his wife: Barbara; son, Theodore W. Shafer; 2 daughters: Catherine M. Kevin Toll and Jeanette M. Daniel Heitger; 5 grandchildren: Randy & Sarah Toll, Allyson, Hannah & Jack Heitger; brother; Dennis Shafer; sisters-in-law; Connie Sebert and Barbara Shafer. He was preceded in death by his parents: Leo and Alice Shafer; brothers: Elwood Sebert and Leo Shafer; sister; A'lese Shafer. Prayers will be said on Wednesday, March 24, 2010, at 9:15 AM at Geisen Funeral-Cremation & Reception Centre NOTE: NEW LOCATION-2 blocks east of Broadway at 606 E 113th Ave. Crown Point, IN, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 AM at St. Mary Catholic Church, 321 E. Joliet St., Crown Point, IN, with Fr. Pat Kalich officiating. Interment will be at Resurrection Catholic Cemetery, 7200 Archer Rd., Justice, IL. Friends may visit with the family on Tuesday, March 23, 2010, from 2:00 to 5:00 and 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Geisen Funeral-Cremation & Reception Centre in Crown Point, IN Wayne Shafer was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1937 to Leo and Alice Shafer. He uprooted to Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1947, where as a member of a dysfunctional family, he and two brothers were taken in by the State of Michigan and raised in an orphanage called The Lake Farm Home for Boys. His sister and other brother went into foster care. Wayne lived on the Farm for almost eight years before he enlisted in the Navy at age seventeen. He married his wife, Barbara Cent on February 7, 1959. After working for a short time at Standard Oil, he was employed at Argonne National Laboratory and after some time there he realized that he could not move up the professional ladder without a college degree. At the urging of Dr. McKorkle, who had once been his supervisor at Argonne, and now was at Iowa State University, he moved his family to Ames, Iowa. He attended Iowa State University and in order to support his family, worked full time at the school's nuclear reactor. He graduated in 1972 with a Mechanical Engineering degree. He worked for Nipsco for a short time and then finished his career with the U.S. Government as Chief of Maintenance and Outages Section with the U.S. Federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region 3 in Chicago, IL. After retiring, Wayne enjoyed hanging out with his buddies at Bronko's Restaurant. Wayne loved gardening and cooking with lots of colorful foods. He wrote a book, “Not Far From Home,” which is registered with the Library of Congress. Memorials in Wayne's name may be given to St. Jude Children's Hospital, the American Diabetes Association or the Epilepsy Foundation. To share a memory or send a condolence to the family, please visit the guestbook section on the obituary page at www.GeisenFuneralHome.com. For information call 219-663-2500