John Martin Stack

John Martin Stack, 80, resident of Homecroft, went home to be with the Lord on January 8, 2024.

Born on November 26, 1943 in North Chicago, Ill., John was the eldest son of John Frank and Mary Stack. A graduate of Morgan Park Academy (Chicago, 1961) and Monmouth College (Illinois, 1965), he was an 11-letter athlete, a tuba player in the marching band, and at Monmouth, John was a member of SAE Fraternity.

After graduation, John worked in his father’s business in North Chicago for three years; then he moved to Indianapolis where he became an independent insurance agent on Indianapolis’ Southside and in the Greenwood area for many years.  During this time John began developing and investing in property and real estate.

In the mid-1990s, he built Keystone Indoor Golf (the Golf Dome), an air-inflated, indoor-sports facility on Indianapolis’ Southside. Initially, it was designed for golfers, but it evolved into a multi-purpose, “all sports” facility serving not only golfers, but also soccer, softball, baseball and lacrosse leagues and players.

In 2003, John founded Positive Swing, Inc., a non-profit that provided free sports programs to inner-city youth and the physically and mentally handicapped. Through sponsorships and donations from such organizations as the USGA and Walmart, John was able to help  thousands of individuals enjoy the physical and mental challenges of various sports at no cost to them.

Among his numerous charitable activities, John organized a national golf tournament for amputees that ran for several years. In addition, he  was an active member of the Beech Grove Lions Club, formerly serving as its president. As a “Lion” he participated in many charitable events.

John especially loved his church family at Christ United Methodist Church on Indianapolis’ Southside. He and a group of fellow church members secretly transported Bibles into China many years ago. For nearly 50 years, he was a faithful board member of Perry Township Religious Education Association (PTREA), which offers optional, off-school-premises Bible studies for elementary-grade students.

A church friend and fellow PTREA board member said about John, “He loved children and wanted to get the gospel to every child in Perry Township.” Whether participating on various committees, planting flowers to beautify his home, church and business, constantly writing notes of encouragement to the countless people he knew or doing handiwork around CUMC, John was a man who exemplified service.

John was a man of faith who despite incredible odds rebuilt his Golf Dome from the ground up three times. He recently said, “During these past nearly eight decades, I have gained the ‘peace which passeth understanding’ in my daily living because of the knowledge of who I am in Jesus Christ. . .”.

John’s loving survivors include his wife of 57 years, Cynthia; son, Dr. Jonathan (Amy) Stack of Indianapolis; sister, Dorothy Spalding (California);  brothers, Robert (Mary Ethel) Stack (Mass.), Eugene Stack (Fla.); and several nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Life Service is planned for 12:00pm, Saturday, May 11 at Christ United Methodist Church 540 US 31 S, Indianapolis, IN 46227.

Interment will be at the family plot in Lake Forest, Ill.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to PTREA (The Perry Township Religious Education Association) or to Christ United Methodist Church.

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