Wayne John Machan, age 80, Brownsburg passed away on March 24th, 2018. Wayne is survived by his wife of 56 years, Mary Ellen, two children Cheryl (Dan) Anderson and Warren (Cindy) Machan and six wonderful grandchildren.
Wayne was born in Lyons, Illinois on October 31, 1937 and spent his school age years in Chicago. After high school, he moved with his parents to a farm in southern Wisconsin. This was instrumental in two ways - Wayne discovered his love of nature and he met his wife to be - Mary Ellen. Wayne attended college at the University of Wisconsin and earned a B.S. degree in Biology. After college, Wayne accepted a job as a wildlife biologist for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. He worked the next 20 years improving Indiana's natural resources and habitat. His job also allowed him to focus on his two passions - hunting and fishing. During the fall and winter, his favorite pastime was rabbit hunting and he was well known amongst his peers for always having one of the best beagles in the state. In the spring and summer, he spent countless days -always with family and friends fishing across the Midwest lakes. Wayne worked to live and so he retired from his job while he was still young. In 1984, he and Mary Ellen began their second lives traveling the world and spending time with friends who lived around the country ranging from Canada to Florida. In retirement, he found three new passions- kayaking, birding and wood carving. Wayne became accomplished in each of these. He led kayak trips through the mangroves of Florida, had a life list of nearly 1,000 birds and left behind a collection of bird carvings for his family and friends. Wayne did not want a memorial service, but he wanted his family and friends to celebrate him in life and their memories. Contributions can be sent directly to Alzheimer's Association at www.alz.org or the Audubon society at www.audobon.org .