FORT WAYNE – Funeral services for former state Rep. Ben GiaQuinta will be Saturday.
GiaQuinta, a World War II veteran, died Sunday from complications tied to congestive heart failure. He was 87.
A visitation for GiaQuinta will be from 1 to 9 p.m. Friday at Klaehn, Fahl & Melton Funeral Home Chapel, 6424 Winchester Road.
Additionally, there will be a visitation from 9 to 10 a.m. Saturday at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, 4500 Fairfield Ave. A funeral service will follow at 10 a.m. at the church.
After his wartime service, GiaQuinta settled in Fort Wayne with his family in 1953 and became a real estate agent.
In 1986, his son Mark GiaQuinta, then a city councilman, persuaded his father to seek a seat on the Wayne Township Board, which oversees the township trustee’s office. GiaQuinta won.
GiaQuinta was first elected to the General Assembly in 1990, at age 70. He served two terms in the House until his defeat in 1994. He regained the seat in 1996 and served until 2006.
That year, GiaQuinta announced he would not seek another term and later confirmed he had a non-aggressive form of lymphoma. Phil GiaQuinta later won his father’s seat.
GiaQuinta was preceded in death by his wife of 62 years, Helen, who died in 2009. He is survived by six children and a host of grandchildren.
