Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Dad (William J. Vilbert) passed away 8-18-2018 at 5:15 pm at the age of 91. While he lived a very long life, it was still terribly hard to see him go. Some of the highlights of his long life need to be shared. This is a lengthy narrative, but the many years he lived held many things to highlight.
Around 1945, at the age of 19, he joined the army war effort and became a paratrooper. He was assigned to be a part of the assault party on mainland Japan. In August 1945 he was en route to Japan by boat when the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since the Japanese surrendered he became part of the occupational forces of Japan. While there he viewed firsthand the destructive aftermath of a nuclear bomb.
He went to college at Parks Air College and there learned to fly in a Stearman biplane. He earned a degree in Aeronautical Engineering and started work at McDonnell Douglas Aircraft in St Louis.
In the early 1960’s he was part of the design of the Gemini space capsule. He designed the window of the capsule and I clearly recall seeing the blueprints of his work one day. Later he went on to work on the Phantom fighter and then the F-15 fighters.
As a father he coached little league soccer and baseball. When I was a preteen he taught me how to actually hit a baseball in the backyard, and once, when I connected and sent a line drive through the back storm door window, he didn’t get angry but instead seemed a bit proud.
When I was 18 I bought my first car with money I had saved from working at the grocery store. But before long the engine developed a bad problem and, downhearted, I limped it home and parked it in the garage. In the evenings after work Dad pulled the engine apart while I watched and he discovered it had a warped head. He brought it to a shop in Baden where it was ground flat (he always knew all about that stuff), then he put it all back together, running like brand new.
He was a master craftsman. Once he laid a tile floor in the hallway of our house. Years later when we got new flooring in the kitchen and hired a professional to install it, the professional wanted to know who the “perfectionist” was who installed the hallway tile.
In 1999 Mom developed a brain tumor. Ultimately, surgery was successful but it left her unable to walk and without the use of her left hand. Dad looked after her for 10 long years until her death in 2009.
Thanks for being a great Dad. We are going to miss you.
I want to give thanks to Oxford Glen Memory Care Center in Owasso. The environment and the employees there are incredibly selfless, loving and kind, far above anything I could have ever expected or hoped for.
Also, the hospice service, Rose Rock. Wonderful wonderful people each and every one. They helped in so many loving ways. I am in awe of their kindness and compassion.
Thank you to my loving wife, Cyndi, who looked after Dad for the past 3 years with tremendous love and constant patience. I don’t think I could have gotten through this without her help.
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