John David Ewell

John David Ewell, 86, of Indianapolis, died Saturday, January 8, 2011. He was born on November 25, 1924 in Indianapolis, IN to John and Elsa (Schubert) Ewell. John attended Tech High School before joining the Army during WWII. He attained the rank of Sergeant, and served in the 556th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion in the European Theatre, earning 3 Bronze Stars. John is survived by his daughters, Nancy (Scott Barker) Ewell and Linda (Ralph) Spurrier; grandchildren, Tammy (Jon) Behrman, Troy (Tasha) Tyner, Erick Yorkman, and Lori Yorkman. He is also survived by 4 great-grandsons, Harlan and Oscar Behrman and Tristan and Tyson Tyner, as well as close friends, Scott and Carol Hamer. John was preceded in death by his wife of 55 years, Elsie (Middleton) Ewell. John retired from the Ford Motor Company, Indiana in 1989 where he worked as an electrician and electronics specialist . John was a member of the Indiana Triumph Club, Indiana British Car Union and the Vintage Triumph Register of America. He enjoyed attending car shows and showing his Triumph TR3b sports car and his 427 '67 Cougar. One of his favorite annual events was "The Summer Party" hosted by The Roadster Factory in Armagh, PA. The majority of his time was spent working on his Triumph, but if he wasn't in his garage, he enjoyed collecting guns and building 1/6 scale remote control model planes. John was a ham operator, an electronics specialist, a gardner of monster sunflowers and tomatoes as well as an animal lover. After his wife, Elsie, passed away in 2001, John received a kitten from a good neighborhood friend and it was not long before John and "Trouble" his cat became inseparable. He raised box turtles (tortoises) his entire life. His favorite, Big Sam, is now 106, Baby Sam is 40 and Trouble the cat is 9 years. Visitation will be held on Saturday, January 15, 2011 from 1-3pm, at Flanner and Buchanan Funeral Center-Washington Park North. A memorial service will begin at 3pm. Memorial contributions may be made to the Indianapolis Humane Society. Friends are invited to leave online condolences for the family at www.flannerbuchanan.com.