Charles Vickers Jr.

Charles D. Vickers Jr., age 85 of New Hampton died Thursday, July 5, 2012, at the New Hampton Care Center. Funeral services will be held 11:00 a.m. Monday, July 9, 2012, at the United Methodist Church in Fredericksburg with Pastor Shirley Will officiating. Music for the service will be provided by Gail Allison as organist. A special CD of Charlene Burgess will be played, 'Remember Me'. The Allison Family will sing Grace Alone' and the congregation will sing, 'I'll Fly Away' and 'Amazing Grace'. 'Anchors Away' and 'Keep America Singing' will be played during the recessional. Military Rites will be given by the Fredericksburg AMVETS Post #90. Private family interment will be in Woodlawn Cemetery, Sparta, WI, with Shane Pugh, Travis Pugh, Jeremiah Pugh, Tonya Zeien, Kendra Pongracz, Steve Crawford, Leslie Anne Crawford and Laura Raye Crawford serving as bearers. Friends may greet the family 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. Sunday, July 8, 2012, at Hugeback - Johnson Funeral Home in Fredericksburg. Visitation continues an hour prior to the funeral at the church on Monday. If so desired, memorials maybe made to Iowa Hospice or the family. Charles Danes Vickers Jr. was born October 25, 1926, in Rochester, NY, the son of Charles Danes and Myrtle (Taylor) Vickers Sr. He received his education at the Westfield Technical High School in Springfield, MA, graduating in 1944. In his youth he sang in the school and church choirs and performed with the school's drum and bugle corp, playing the snare drums. He was inducted into the United States Navy on September 4, 1944 serving aboard the USS Chenango aircraft carrier during WW II. He was honorably discharged as a Radarman Third Class on June 2, 1946. Charles had attended Northland College in Ashland, WI, where he met his future wife, Barbara Jeanne Burkitt. The couple were married on January 29, 1947. To this union four daughters were born. Charlie had been a tool & die worker in Cudahy, WI and later the owner and operator of the Maple Theater in Mapleton, IA. While in Mapleton, he had been the school board president and local chamber president. He had worked as an engineer for The Zenith Corp. in Sioux City, Deluxe Manufacturing in Lake Mills, IA, and the AMF Corp. in both Des Moines and Jefferson, IA. Charlie and Barbara lived in Florida from 1987 until 2002, when they moved to New Hampton to be near their daughter and family. He moved to Whispering Willow Assisted Living facility in Fredericksburg in August of 2009 before going to the NH Care Center. He was a member of Fredericksburg United Methodist Church. In every community they lived, Charlie and Barbara were members of the local Methodist Church Choir. Throughout his life, he was actively involved in barbershop singing, including the River City Chorus in Mason City, The DesMoinneaires, and several Florida choruses. He was honored for starting a chorus in Florida and for establishing several quartets in his musical days. He was involved in the Society for the Preservation & Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America and was Past-President of the Des Moinneaires Barbershop Chorus. He was an avid golfer a member of the Fredericksburg AMVETS and Mercy Medical Center Auxillary. He was honored to travel to Washington DC in September 2010 on the Winnebago Honor Flight. Survivors include four daughters, Jeanne Braun of Medina, OH, Francie (Steve) Crawford of Fredericksburg, Charlene Burgess of Grants Pass, OR, Bobbi (Shane) Pugh of Woodward, IA; six grandchildren, Tonya (Rob) Zeien, Kendra (Matyas) Pongracz, Leslie Crawford, Laura Crawford, Jeremiah (Sarah) Pugh, Travis (Shae) Pugh; ten great-grandchildren, Jordon Coleman, Dallas Coleman, Tristan Wright, Jeremiah Pugh, Aidyn Pongracz, Avery Pongracz, A.M. Pongracz, Carter Pugh, Holden Pugh and Mckinley Pugh. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Barbara on April 8, 2009, one brother, Gilbert Vickers; one sister, Elizabeth Miller.