Obituaries

Dan Cissell

Daniel J. Cissell of St. Charles, Mo born 1/9/43 & died 6/26/88

Dan apparently came to Vega in 1961 along with about 6-8 others from the same boot company--some of them struck for SM, RD, RM, ET- - - Dan went for RM and was RM3 when he left the Vega, probably in 1964.
Dan was only 45 - - Tom Ditmyer (who I cant locate) in Detroit told me yrs ago that he had died from some kind of screw up at a hospital - - so that is the info on our buddy Dan Cissell RM3 - - - Ernie Glashaw

I remember him so well! I still can see his face.  Too bad to go so young. 
                             - - - Dick Conhiser

JB Bunn
of Jefferson,  NY

Born Jan. 20, 1942
Died Feb. 12, 2005 

    JB was past post commander of Stamford VFW Post 6292 and was presently commander of the Otsedel Counties Council.
   After retirement, he worked for Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., tracking earthquakes for Allied Aerospace before taking early retirement in 1997.
    At that time, he and his wife, Barbara, made their vacation home in Jefferson their permanent residence.

Autobiography

I first reported to the Vega, 1/26/60 and on 1/14/66 I was transferred to the USS Coral Sea CVA 43, then onto the US Naval Station Washington, DC and then 6 ships later I retired on 01/02/88 with the rank of Chief Warrant Officer.  After retirement I went to work for NASA at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt MD as the Program Assurance Manager for the Laser

  JB Bunn, 63, of Jefferson passed away Saturday, Feb. 12, 2005, at Kingston Hospital from complications from an automobile accident Dec. 12, 2004.
     JB was born Jan. 20, 1942, in Fort Scott, Kan. He was the son of John Bunn and Ethel Higbee, both of whom predeceased him.
    JB was a graduate of Widefield High School in Colorado Springs and later received his associate’s degree while serving in the United States Navy.
     He served 20 years in the U.S. Navy from June 1, 1959, to Jan. 1, 1978, which included 2½ tours in Vietnam, at which time JB received numerous medals, including the Purple Heart.

    JB is survived by his wife, the former, Barbara Mitchell, of Rifton; and four sons and their wives, Harry Grubaugh and Maria of Connecticut, Clayton Bunn and Laura of Connecticut, Michael Grubaugh Sr. and Donna of New York, and Paul Bunn and Maria of Queens. He leaves his stepmother, Neva Bunn-Hite, and one brother, John Bunn Jr. of Deerfield, Mo.; as well as four sisters, Katie McCune and Margaret Ann Smith of Kansas, Deb Keller of Missouri; 12 grandchildren, Michelle, Kelly, Brianna, Ashley and Tyna of Connecticut, Michael Jr., Shannon, Bryan, Michael and Danielle of New York, and Philip and Alissa of Rhode Island. He also leaves his very dear and close family friend, Theresa Anderson of Connecticut.
     He was predeceased by his sister, Janie Rickard of Colorado Springs, Colo.

Tracking Network.  My job at NASA was to insure data quality from 28 different laser tracking stations through out the world.  I traveled to each station once a year or if the data quality was bad, I went to that station to find out what was wrong.  I worked for NASA for 12 years and then had to retire due to health problems.  Now I live on a 32 acre ranch with my wife and our three dogs.  I keep active in the military as a member my local VFW and America Legion post and I teach part time at the local schools about Naval life onboard ships, also on lasers.

And I still smoke those stogies!  . . .   by JB

Jimmy Hersey

Nudson, Dale E

     Dale E. Nudson, 64, of Levant,
died Friday, April 2, 2004 in Levant, KS.
Mr. Nudson was born on Jan. 26, 1940 in Topeka and lived in the area for more than 37 years.
     He retired from the Kansas Department of Transportation with 30 years of service and was a veteran of the U.S. Navy.
     Survivors include his wife, Rose Marie (Renne) Nudson; brothers, Steve Nudson of Georgia and Mark L. Nudson of Mission; his father, Gerald E. “Jerry” Nudson of Topeka and one grandchild.
     Mr. Nudson was preceded in death by his son, Dusty Nudson (August of 2003) and his mother,
Doretta Schutter Nudson (February of 1993).

USS Vega 1957-59

PERSONAL DATA
  Home of Record:  Watsonville, CA
  Date of birth:   01/24/1948

MILITARY DATA
  Service:         United States Navy
  Grade at loss:   E3
  Rank:            Fireman
  ID No:           1198223
  MOS:             0000: Not Recorded
  Length Service:  02
  Unit:            USS VEGA (AF-59), 7TH FLEET

CASUALTY DATA
  Start Tour:      ------
  Casualty Date:   06/03/1968
  Incident Date:   06/03/1968
  Age at Loss:     20
  Location:        Gulf of Tonkin, North Vietnam
  Remains:         Body recovered
  Casualty Type:   Non-hostile, died while missing
  Casualty Reason: Casualty at sea

CLIFFORD ELSON COX

MUENSTER — Funeral Mass for Clifford Elson Cox, 60, of Muenster, will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Muenster with Fr. Ken Robinson officiating.

A rosary will be held at the Geo. J. Carroll & Son Funeral Home at 6 p.m. this evening, Feb. 26, 2010 with a vigil and then a visitation to follow. Services are under the direction of Geo. J. Carroll & Son Funeral Home.

Mr. Cox died Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010 at his home.

Clifford Cox was born April 11, 1949 in Gainesville to Edwin Ray and Lula Gilbert Cox.

Cliff was an avid fisherman and bird and deer hunter, and loved to hunt and collect arrowheads. He enjoyed driving, traveling and camping, and loved the great outdoors. He made friends easily and had a great sense of humor.

He was baptized by immersion at the age of 10 at the Broadway Church of Christ and later became a parishioner of Sacred Heart Church. He saw God's love and majesty in nature, in his family and in all things beautiful.

Cliff served in the United States Navy from 1967 to 1971, aboard the USS Vega, making four tours to Vietnam during the war.

Cliff was a Master Plumber since 1989 and worked in the Muenster and Gainesville area since 1993.

He loved life, and fought a courageous battle against cancer. He will be dearly missed by his family and a multitude of friends.

 

He is survived by his greatest friend and caregiver, Tina Cox of Muenster; his son and daughter-in-law, Derek and Bonnie Cox of Gainesville; son and daughter-in-law, Bryan and Corrie Cox of Kansas City, Mo., daughter and son-in-law, Katherine and Brad Steinert of Sugar Land; daughter, Angela Cox of Muenster; grandchildren, Derek Paul Cox II, William Mike Cox, Austin Allen Cox, Keegan Elson Cox and Liam Lee Steinert. He is also survived by his mother, Lula (Skippi) Cox of Gainesville; his brother and sister-in-law, Gerald “Wally” and Janet Cox of Gainesville; brother and sister-in-law, Kelvin and Darlene Cox of Moore, Okla. and sister and brother-in-law, Judy and Jason Pritchard of Blue Ridge.

Mr. Cox was preceded in death by his father.

Captain Chandler

 Charles Richardson Chandler, 87, a retired Navy Captain, died of kidney failure, congestive heart disease and prostate cancer June 14, 2005, at The Fairfax, a military retirement home at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

Captain Chandler was a native Washingtonian and graduated from Annapolis High School. He was appointed to the Naval Academy and graduated in 1939. He served on the USS California before going to submarine school. On Dec. 7, 1941, he was the assistant signal officer aboard the USS Pompano, which arrived at Pearl Harbor shortly after the disastrous strike on the Navy's fleet.
 

He later served at the fleet training group in San Diego, as commanding officer aboard the USS Vega, commanding officer of the fleet training group in Pearl Harbor and commanding officer of the U.S. naval base in Yokosuka, Japan. His last sea duty was as commander of the service squadron at Newport, R.I. He retired in 1969 after serving at the Naval Board of Inspection and Survey in Washington.

In retirement, he was active in reunion organizations for the Drayton and Thatcher crews. He also patented a device to purify water.

His wife, Ann Yates Chandler, died in 1986.

Survivors include three children, Kathryn Chandler of Washington, Annie Lawhorne of Dumfries and Yates Chandler of Los Angeles; and three grandchildren.