Bernard "Ben" J. Wirkner

Bernard “Ben” Julius Wirkner, age 74, passed away peacefully surrounded by his wife and children on Friday, December 18, 2020.
Ben was born to parents Urban and Martha (Sutter) Wirkner on October 20, 1946, in Portland, Indiana, and raised in Fort Recovery, Ohio. He was the youngest of four children and grew up on a beautiful, modest rural setting near the state line of Indiana and Ohio. As a boy, Ben enjoyed playing Cowboys and Indians, assembling and painting model cars, and working at his jobs at the stirrup company and a local grocery store. He graduated from Fort Recovery High School and then International College in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with an accounting degree. He began his career Fort Wayne, Indiana, as an Electric Plant Accountant at I&M Power. Ben enrolled in the Navy Reserve and served one year in active naval duty in Da Nang during the Vietnam War. When he returned to Fort Wayne and his accounting position at I&M, he met Carla and the two were married on May 22, 1971. Ben and Carla had 2 children and raised them in a loving home in Fort Wayne. Ben ultimately served 42 years as an accountant with I&M and its parent company American Electric Power (“AEP”). After his children were in college, he accepted two transfers with AEP to North Canton, Ohio, and Columbus, Ohio. He and Carla embraced these transfers and made many new friends, both at work and church. Upon Ben’s retirement in 2008, he and Carla moved to Noblesville, Indiana, to be near their children and grandchildren.
Ben was a devout Catholic, active in each parish of which he was a member. Most memorable were the parishes of St. Charles Borromeo in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Our Lady of Grace in Noblesville, Indiana. He along with Carla attended mass regularly and served each church in many capacities including ushering, Eucharistic ministering, attending and leading Christ Renews His Parish weekends, and most recently, participating in MGM at Our Lady of Grace, which is a monthly meal preparation and delivery program for the sick, homebound, and elderly.
Ben was the ultimate trivia buff, IU basketball fan, classic car aficionado, and 70’s music lover. You could catch him jogging each morning at 5:30 and eating a bowl of ice cream most evenings at 9:00. In between those hours he was busy being a devoted husband, caring father, and reliable friend.
Ben is survived by his wife of 49 years, Carla (Falls); daughter Jennifer (Timothy) Coulon; son Barry (Stephanie) Wirkner; grandchildren Joshua Coulon, Ella Wirkner, and Olivia Wirkner; sisters, Sarah Jane (Phil Ellenberger) Pensabene and Susanne (Ron) Campbell, and many treasured nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents, Urban and Martha, and his sister, Carolyn (Donald) Warren.
The family requests memorial donations to the Indiana Parkinson Foundation, 14350 Mundy Dr #800, Noblesville, IN 46060 or Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, 9900 E 191st St, Noblesville, IN 46060