David Eugene Vigil Sr.

David E Vigil Sr. was born at home in Crowley County Colorado on October 27th 1935 to Jon and Pina Vigil. The walls of the two room adobe home were made out of mud and straw, the roof constructed of wood and shingles, and the floor was the earth it was built on. Dave was preceded in Death by; Mother- Pina (Lucero) Vigil, Father- Jon Vigil, Brothers- Cecilio Vigil, Robert Vigil, Sisters- Benny Burciago, MaryJo Gallegos, and survived by His best friend and wife Leatrice, Sister Pat Rios, seven children: David Vigil Jr., Robert Vigil, Anthony Vigil, Vincent Vigil, Lori Vigil, Angelina Smith, Terysa Brake, seventeen grandchildren, and six great grandchildren.


Dave was born into family with a strong work ethic and the meaning of family as he worked alongside his mother pulling onions, as she followed and cut the tops off placing them in her basket. On a good day they could fill 60 boxes in 12 hours making $.45 per hour each~ Dave was three. When he turned eight he got his own job picking worms off of tomato plants placing them in a jar at a penny per worm. After his nine hour shift he would sit and count to see how much he had earned; $5.00 for the day. That’s 500 worms! At age ten for the first time he was earning an hourly wage of $.40. He and his family traveled from farm to farm for work until 1949.


1942: On hot days Dave and his friends stayed cool wading in the irrigation ditches close to home. A story with a giggle~ he and his friends passed time playing with calves. The object of the game was to try to catch them by their tails and once a good grip was had the fun began. As the calves tried to escape the kids got a free ride around the field.


Spanish being his first language made attending school difficult as English was the only language spoken. Dave at six years old would run to the boiler room of the school to hide and cry feeling bad because he could not understand to learn. His father’s solution for the running was to beat him behind the legs with a stick and send him back to school the next day. He then would run to his grandmother Monjolita’s house and from that day on his mother and aunties taught him how to speak English. He repeated the first grade with high points and a hunger for education. He went on to get his G.E.D and later in years attended college.


In 1949 Dave’s family settled in Harrah Washington where he attended High School in White Swan and joined the Cougar football team known to be the happiest and funniest losing team around.


1951: At Age of 16 he took on a full time job to support his family in their time of need. The working hours were long making it difficult to keep up with school. Selflessly he chose Family and Survival and put school off for now.


At age 17 Dave joined the Marine Corp as an operating engineer. He attended boot camp in San Diego. During the Korean War his unit was responsible for building roads to allow the tanks and equipment through. Prior to his Honorable discharge Dave was also stationed in Japan and Okinawa.


After the Military he worked as a warehousemen in California until moving back to WA in the early 60’s. He worked for Fisher Flour mill until 1965 when he was accepted into Longshore Local 19 in Seattle. Dave was the founder of the ILWU Christmas for kids program running it successfully for 26 years bringing the Christmas spirit to those in need. Through the years he heard many wishes for Christmas because in the eyes of the children, Dave was Santa Clause. During his travels to Mexico wearing his hat, the children would stop him and say “Santa Clause Cowboy!”


He retired In 1997 and fulfilled his long life dream of traveling the country in his RV with his best friend. They traveled for 6 years all over the US, Canada, and Mexico Through their 45 years of marriage Dave and Leatrice lived by the motto "Communication~ Honesty~ Understanding~ and Trust" and with his best friend beside him everything was possible! His legacy of hard work and the importance of family can be seen through the lives of his children. Even though we can’t see you Dad~ we know you are forever with us in all we do!


AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL!