Jack Canine passed away Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020, at Venice, Florida.
He was born Dec. 27, 1932, at Thorntown, to Herbert and Leona Canine. He graduated from Crawfordsville High School in 1950. On Aug. 24, 1952, he married Marie Kochell. She preceded him in death in 1997. He married Marlyn Ico on April 19, 2013. She survives.
After graduation, Mr. Canine worked at Allisons in Indianapolis and later at Raybestos in engineering and design. In 1959 he started making knives for liquid fertilizer in his garage (TerraKnife/Terra-Products). His business grew into what is now called Banjo Corporation and over the years became the leader in the manufacturing of liquid handling products. Mr. Canine served as CEO of the company until 2006 after selling to Idex Corporation.
He was a member of Shriners International and the Elks Club. He loved rag-time music and was passionate about vintage banjos. He collected over 200 of the rarest banjos known to exist. In 1999 he founded the American Banjo Museum in Oklahoma City and donated his entire collection to the museum so that others could enjoy these beautiful instruments.
Mr. Canine cared about his community and as a philanthropist, he supported many community needs including the building of the Marie Canine Cancer Center, a part of Franciscan Health.
He is survived by his three daughters, Cynthia (Jeff) Flesher of Zionsville, Debora (Mark) Gillen of Fort Myers, Florida, and Jill (Kevin) Parker of Crawfordsville; six grandchildren, Courtney (Nick) Johnson, Cody (Natisha) Sowder, Megan (Jared) Templeman, Abbie (Gabe) Guerrero, Claire (Justin) Moran and Sam Gillen; and 12 great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be 4-7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4 at Burkhart Funeral Home, Crawfordsville. Funeral service will be at 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 5. Interment will follow at the Oak Hill Cemetery Mausoleum.
Donations in his memory may be made to Shriners Hospital for Children at www.shrinershospitalforchildren.org.
