Victor Alfred Siegel

GONE FISHING...

Victor Alfred Siegel passed away peacefully on Saturday, November 20, 2021, at the age of 92. He was born on June 24, 1929, in Kalispell, Montana to Alfred Arthur Siegel and Johanna Eleanore (Krause) Siegel. Years earlier, his father, a baker by trade, had emigrated to the US from Germany. His mother, a teacher, was the daughter of homesteaders in the Kalispell area, who had also emigrated from Germany. Victor grew up hunting and fishing with his dad, grandpa, brother, and uncles at the foot of the Rockies at Flathead Lake, Flathead River, and at the family cabin on Lake Blaine. During his high school years, after the Great Depression, the family moved to Bremerton, Washington, where Victor graduated from Bremerton High School.
In 1950, he joined the US Air Force and served during the Korean War through 1953 as Central Fire Control Gunner on a B29 Superfortress Bomber – nicknamed “Cap’n Sam and 10 Scents.” While stationed at Forbes Air Force Base (now closed), he met Beverly Ann (Larkins) Siegel at a dance in Topeka, Kansas. They were married the next year on July 18, 1953, in Beloit, Kansas; and purchased their first home in Bremerton, Washington, for $4,000. They had three children: Linda Ann (Siegel) Foster (b. 1956), Allan Victor Siegel (b. 1958), and Donald (“Don”) Karl Siegel (b. 1962). The year Don was born, Victor and Beverly moved their growing family to their home overlooking Sinclair Inlet on Sherman Heights in Bremerton.
After serving in the Air Force, Victor completed a shipfitter apprenticeship at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS), Bremerton. He continued his education at Olympic College earning an Associate of Science degree, and in 1958, he graduated with his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Washington. He began his engineering career at PSNS, later achieving status as a Professional Engineer. He retired as Branch Supervisor (GS 13) of Design Code 260.3 after 35 years of service to the US Department of Defense.
Victor was an avid hunter, fisherman, and outdoorsman. Among his favorite trips with his family and friends were:
• Hiking trips with Beverly and his father, Alfred, on the Elwha River Trail from Port Angeles to Lake Quinault; once with burros to help carry the load for Linda, Allan, and Don;

• Annual family fishing trips to Egan Lake and Sheridan Lake, British Columbia, with Beverly, their children, and his parents; with side trips to Barkerville, a restored historical mining town north of Hope;

• Clamming and fishing for smelt using nets handmade by his brother, Dale, at Kalaloch Campground in Olympic National Park;

• Sixty years of annual deer hunting trips with his father, brother, and son, Don, to Chelan, Washington. They also hunted in Chesaw, Washington, and on the Boise River in Idaho;

• Fishing for white fish on Spotted Bear River near Hungry Horse Dam in Montana;

• Duck hunting with Beverly, his brother, Dale, and his son, Don, at the Wasteway near George in Eastern Washington;

• Trout fishing at Hampton Lakes in Eastern Washington; and

• Salmon fishing at Sekiu, Washington, with his son, Don.
Victor also enjoyed live theatre and musical productions and was a season ticket holder at the Repertory Theatre in Seattle and Bremerton Symphony Orchestra. He also enjoyed sports and attended many of his children’s and grandchildren’s games and activities; in addition to holding season tickets to the Seahawks with Beverly, Dale, and Dale’s wife, Shirley.
He enjoyed vegetable gardening and tending the orchard; canning; and smoking fish. He made and bottled root beer for a few seasons; he made sauerkraut and dill pickles; and he tried his hand at winemaking – all to good results. He built two heavy duty workbenches that remain in the family, a wooden fishing pram, fish smokers; a rock retaining wall; and he refinished an antique pool table (still in use at Sherman Heights), among many other home and weekend projects.
Over the course of his life, Victor saw much of the world through his travels to South Korea, Japan, Scotland, England, Australia, Singapore, the Philippines, Mexico, and Canada.
Victor loved and was loved by his family. He is survived by his first wife, Beverly; his sister, Myrna Rita (Siegel) Botz (spouse: David); his sister-in-law, Shirley Siegel; and his children: Linda (spouse: Jimmie), Allan, and Don (spouse: Melissa). He has eight grandchildren – Lindsey Ryan Foster (spouse: Lakin); Ashley Erin (Foster) Fruner (spouse: Albert); Jordan Mikal Foster (spouse: Alyssa); Austin Harrison Siegel (spouse: Taylor); Abbey Morgan (Siegel) Schmitz (spouse: Jared); Harrison Calvin Kylind Friehauf; Camden Emmet Friehauf; and Jemma Olivia Grace Friehauf. He is also survived by six great-grandchildren: Isla, Emmy, Harper, Ryan, Logan, and Ellie, with another on the way (to Austin and Taylor) in May. He was preceded in death by his wife, Violet Ione (Olsen) Siegel, whom he married in 1995, and his brother Allan Dale Siegel.
Raised in the Lutheran church, Victor was a member of First Lutheran Church in Port Orchard. In celebration of his life, a memorial service will be led by longtime family friend Pastor Janis Otto at Rill Chapel, 1151 Mitchell Avenue, Port Orchard, at 11 a.m. on Thursday, December 9. A graveside service with military honors is planned for the family at Sunset Lane Memorial Park, also in Port Orchard.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the employee appreciation fund at The Lodge at Mallard’s Landing, where Victor lived most recently in Memory Care. Gifts can be made payable to “Lodge Residents’ Employee Appreciation Fund” and mailed to Dorothy Lord, LREA Fund Administrator, 6947-A Wagner Way, Gig Harbor, WA 98335.
Victor’s favorite cocktail was a classic Gin and Tonic: one hand of gin with a splash of tonic and a twist of lime, served on the rocks. One day soon, please raise a glass in his honor (after 5 p.m., of course).