Peter Thomas Vagenas
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Proud Greek-American, designer, professor, singer, sailor, kayaker, would-be aviator, inveterate dad-joke teller, beloved son, brother, husband and father Peter Thomas Vagenas passed away unexpectedly on February 11, 2020 at age 87.
Born in Davenport, Iowa, to hard-working Greek immigrant parents, Thomas and Zenovia, Peter was the last surviving of their 5 children, (George, Vicki, Gloria and Jim). To afford college, he worked long hours at often difficult jobs, and a more enjoyable stint in a 1950s local children's TV host stint as "Wrangler Pete," a nickname that will be fondly remembered.
Like his older brothers, he served in the military. He was fascinated with flying and he'd hoped to be an Air Force pilot, but was drafted into the Army at the tail end of the Korean War, serving his time in Texas. The GI bill allowed him to complete his education at Augustana College in Illinois, continuing on to University of Iowa and University of Denver, where he ultimately earned his Ph.D. in theater/scenic design.
He had discovered a love for singing and theater in high school that carried throughout his life, and to his eventual career. It even led him to meet his beloved bride Robin (Patricia) in the play "Blood Wedding," at the University of Iowa, where they serendipitously played husband and wife.
Peter's academic career in scenic design took him across the country with his young family, eventually landing at the University of Delaware, where he worked for 26 years, before retiring in 2000. He loved the creative process, working with students in the shop, and he brought that love of theater and music to his 3 children, all of whom play instruments and sing.
A visit to the shores of Maine in 1969 caused this Midwest boy to fall in love with the ocean, and resulted in family visits to Goose Rocks Beach virtually every year thereafter. He bought a used small racing boat from the University of Delaware, and learned to sail. He truly loved the wind and seaspray in his face as he shared the thrill of sailing with family and friends, including some inevitable spills into the chilly Atlantic. He also enjoyed kayaking along with his son and daughter, exploring the coastline among the lobster buoys and rocky shoals, and seeing the sea life up close, with seals often swimming within feet of them.
Late in his career he led a study abroad class in London, which opened the door to several such trips for work and for fun with the family to the UK and elsewhere in Europe and as far as New Zealand and Australia. He was fluent in Greek and took his family there in 2007, translating for them while visiting cousins in Larissa, his parents' home villages of Rapsani and Zagora, and touring the country for a memorable trip.
Peter was known for his outgoing, ebullient personality, being described by a neighbor as the "light of the neighborhood." He'd talk to anybody about anything and was passionate about politics as a life-long Democrat. He loved to laugh and play games, especially tennis. Throughout his life, he enjoyed his beloved dogs, a mutt named Zip and two German Shepherds, Pebbles and Tasha, and he volunteered at the SPCA. Right up until the end, he led an active and independent life, and it was a fall while digging up a tree stump that resulted in the trauma that ultimately took his life.
Peter is survived by his beloved wife, Robin (Patricia) Vagenas, daughters Danielle and Kaia Vayenas (of Portland, ME), and son Chip (Peter) Vayenas (of Nashville, TN), along with his in-laws David and Marita Almquist (of Cleveland, OH) and his many nieces and nephews and their families across the country who will always remember their Uncle Pete.
In years of choral singing, Peter's glorious tenor voice rang out in masterworks such as Beethoven's Ninth, Orff's Carmina Burana, and the Requiems of Mozart, Brahms and Verdi. The words from one of his favorites, the finale of Mahler's 2nd Symphony, are "With wings I won for myself, In love's ardent struggle, I shall fly upwards To that light which no eye has penetrated!
Kalinikta Peter/Dad/Pateramou/paterfamilias, we will always love you. Sail on, ever with following winds.
A memorial event will be held this summer in Maine to celebrate Peter's life. The family suggests memorial contributions may be sent to the Delaware SPCA.
Cremation Service of DE