Arden Leo Druckamiller

Arden (“Art”) Leo Druckamiller, 80, passed away peacefully on April 9, 2025. Art was born in Goshen, Indiana on October 13, 1944.

He grew up in Syracuse, Indiana, graduating in 1963 from Syracuse High School, where he played baseball, ran track, and starred in the play “Dino.” When not at school, you could find him on Lakes Wawasee and Syracuse, fishing, skiing, or hanging out with his friends. Art then attended Indiana University, where he earned a degree in Marketing, cultivated his love of IU basketball, and, most importantly, met his wife, Fran, with whom he enjoyed almost 60 years.

After graduating IU, Art moved to Indianapolis, where he worked for L.S. Ayres, Consumer Products, Amana Corp. and Dorance Supply, coached his daughters’ softball teams, and in his “spare time” opened the much-beloved G.T. South’s Rib House, with friend and golfing buddy, Gerald Travis South. Art was a devoted husband to Fran, whom he married in 1965; a loving dad to Kristin (Mark) Dutton and Kari (Victor) Mbiti; and a proud grandfather to four grandsons, Corey and Quinten Howard and Miller and Maxwell Dutton. Art cherished family and friends above everything else.

Art was an avid fisherman and loved golf. His favorite getaways were fishing in Canada, boating at Lake Wawasee, and spending time with family and friends on Florida’s gulf coast. Whether churning ice cream on his parents’ back porch, making a chocolate banana shake for his girls, or driving for an evening treat with Fran, ice cream held a special place in Art’s heart. He improved the cheer in any room he entered.

He was preceded in death by his parents Leo and Alma (Heyde) Druckamiller, brothers Norman and Eugene and sister, Dolores Hepler. In addition to his wife, daughters and grandsons, Art is also survived by his nieces and nephews Halle (Dan) Vermillion Gann, Brenda (Roger) Baumgartner, Cheryl (Rick) Bauman and Larry (Donna) Druckamiller.

Memorial donations may be made to the Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation (WACF) or the Ascension St. Vincent Heart Center. (A special thanks goes to the doctors, nurses and techs at St. Vincent on 86th Street - you are all family now and we can’t thank you enough.)

A celebration of life will be held at a later date.