John F. Gassensmith

John F. Gassensmith, 96, of South Bend passed away peacefully on September 2, 2022, under the care of Center for Hospice.

John was born November 19, 1925 in South Bend, Indiana where he was a lifelong resident.

As a child he acquired two nicknames, Jack and Gassy.  This is how he was lovingly known to many of his friends, students and peers.

On November 27, 1952, he married Erma Toth also of South Bend, who preceded him in death.  He is survived by a son, Robert, of Pompano Beach, Florida and a daughter, Nancy Kieft of South Bend.  He was a loving grandfather to Kimberly Hansen Petrina (John Potterton) of Naperville, Illinois, and Kristin Gutierrez (G. Marlon) of Long Beach, California and great grandfather to Victoria (16), Grace (15) and Jack (10) of Naperville, IL and Gibson (4), Jack (1) of Long Beach, California.

He had one sister, Mercedes Gassensmith, who preceded him in death.

Jack graduated from South Bend Central High School in 1943.  While attending Central, he played varsity basketball for the legendary Coach John Wooden.  Jack reminisced frequently that John Wooden was an enormous influence in his life, his coaching, and his teaching career. 

After high school, Jack enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.  He served from January 1944 – July 1946.  Following his military service, Jack returned to South Bend.  In the Fall of 1946, he enrolled at Ball State Teacher’s College.  He attended summer sessions in order to graduate in 1949 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education.

Returning to South Bend, he began his teaching career in 1949 at Nuner School, teaching junior high social studies and physical education.  He was also the head coach for the Nuner boys’ junior high basketball and baseball teams.   At that time, coaches were asked to officiate a sport in a different season.  That is how he began his long career as a football official and later, a basketball official.  He joined the St. Joseph Valley Officials Association and was elected President.  He served as President for 10 years.

As a football official, he was part of a 5-man crew.  They were voted the #1crew in the state 3 times.  The crew was never outside the top 15 in the state which was determined by a vote of high school coaches statewide.  His crew was selected to officiate 5 state championships.  Unfortunately, in 2 of those years Penn High School was in the 5A championship.  Because of the conflict they were assigned to the 4A game instead which was very disappointing to the crew.

Jack also officiated high school basketball around the state.  When his knees could not handle running the court, he became a basketball referee scout.  He attended high school games around the state and observed the referees from the bleachers, assessing the refs on everything from the fouls they call to the kind of shoes they wear and how they keep their cool under the pressure of vocal opposition.  Many times, he would scout a referee who was being considered by the IHSAA for tournament duty.

Jack also taught at John Adams High School for 2 years and coached freshman basketball.

After 2 years, he decided to return to Nuner.  But, returning was bittersweet since he was no longer the basketball coach.  Jack decided to transfer to Madison School to teach until he retired in 1987.

In his early years of teaching, Jack worked the summer Parks and Recreation job at Nuner School.  Later, he taught Driver’s Ed for SBCSC in the summer.  After retiring from teaching, he taught Driver’s Ed for Drive Rite. 

Jack was part of the Notre Dame Chain Crew for 50 years.  He held the downs marker at every home game during this time.  He was knocked down by players many times over the years but he loved that job.  He always said that by doing the chains he had “the best seat in the house.”   Also, at Notre Dame, during the 70’s when freshmen were not allowed to play varsity, Jack’s football crew officiated the freshman games which were held on Sundays against teams such as Michigan State, Purdue, and others.  His crew also officiated the Notre Dame Blue/Gold Game many times.

In addition to being a loving Husband, wonderful Father and days filled with coaching and refereeing, Jack loved the horse races, slot machines and lottery tickets.  One lucky lottery ticket got him on the show Hoosier Millionaire.  On Hoosier Millionaire, he won some prizes, including a paid trip to Las Vegas.  He also enjoyed crossword puzzles, CNN, the stock market and an occasional book.  He invested a lot of time mentoring students and coaching.  Even in his last days, he reminisced about his satisfying career as a teacher and coach.

Visitation will be held Wednesday, September 14, 2022, from 4:00pm to 7:00pm at Palmer Funeral Homes – River Park Chapel, 2528 Mishawaka Avenue, South Bend, IN 46615.

The Funeral Service will be held at St. Anthony de Padua Catholic Church, 2310 E Jefferson Blvd, South Bend, IN 46615 at 11:00 am Thursday, September 15, 2022, with visitation at 10:00am, prior to service.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Center for Hospice, 501 Comfort Place, Mishawaka, IN 46544.

Online condolences may be made to the family at www.palmerfuneralhomes.com.

John Gassensmith's passing at the age of 96 on Friday, September 2, 2022 has been publicly announced by Palmer Funeral Home - River Park in South Bend, IN.

According to the funeral home, the following services have been scheduled: Visitation, on September 14, 2022 at 4:00 p.m., ending at 7:00 p.m., at Palmer Funeral Home - River Park, 2528 Mishawaka Avenue, South Bend, IN. Visitation, on September 15, 2022 at 10:00 a.m., ending at 11:00 a.m., at St. Anthony de Padua Catholic Church, 2320 E. Jefferson Blvd, South Bend, IN. Funeral service, on September 15, 2022 at 11:00 a.m., at St. Anthony de Padua Catholic Church, 2320 E. Jefferson Blvd, South Bend, IN.

09/11/2022 JFC

09/18/2022 EJS full obit/pic added