David Henry Vigus

David Vigus CINCINNATI-Captain (Ret) David ‘Smutz’ Vigus, November 19, 1950 – December 9, 2018, ‘Stranger in a Strange Land’. To know David was to experience a world of glorious and complicated dualities: a Vietnam War protestor who enlisted in the Army and retired as a Captain; an Iron Horseman who taught Lutheran Sunday School; an imposing, heavily tattooed man who loved Enya and Kenny G. David collected both butterflies and weaponry. He was both a frustrating father and a brilliant mentor. He spent his life searching for brotherhood and found it in the military and on a motorcycle. He found it on the road, working in the nuclear power industry, and, in the end, he found it at the V.A. Dave lived his life in superlatives—his was the sharpest sarcasm softened by his deep love for corny dad jokes and puns. Filled with charm and charisma, his brilliance took shape in astounding generosity and mind-blowing obsessions, from constructing elaborate computer systems for “crunching SETI” to custom crafted bird feeding buffet lines, and goldfish. Yes, goldfish. One chubby Oranda (fancied by his daughter) led to breeding and raising ornamental goldfish, his designing and building specialized filtration systems, and even his presidency of the Goldfish Society of America. He loved wind chimes, pizza, and, inexplicably, the Fresh Prince of Bel Air. His appreciation of the outdoors and animals led to unconventional home menageries; his keen intelligence and work ethic propelled him to senior management at Fernald. Ahead of his time on many levels, David is still not an easy man to “grok,” or to be understood—to use a word he adopted from his favorite book, Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein. Just when you think you have a handle on him, he surprises you with a new, and unexpected, layer. He is survived by sisters, Barbara Vigus and Linda Hendricks (Dean); ex-wives Julia K. Shows and Muriel K. Allen; children Summer ‘Pumpkin’ Vigus-Genetti (Greg), Heather ‘Kitten’ Sayre (Thomas Flick), Joseph Epstein (Emily), Carmen Jordan (Charles), and Suhail Masadeh (Sarah); 5 nieces and nephews; 13 grandchildren; and 2 ornery cats. Services Weil Funeral Home, 8350 Cornell Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45249 Tuesday, Dec. 18, 11:00 A.M. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Cincinnati VA Medical Center https://www.pay.gov/public/form/start/48003168/

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David Henry Vigus

November 19, 1950 - December 9, 2018