Michael S. & Frances Kay Vargo

Funeral Mass will be held at Christ the King Catholic Church,  1690 E 17th Street, Idaho Falls, ID 83404, at 11:00am on Friday, August 13th, with luncheon at the parish hall to follow.  The family will welcome all who are able to attend.

Frances Kay Guyer Vargo, 84, passed away peacefully on Thursday, December 31, 2020 from terminal Lewy Body disease with her son Guy by her side.  Due to her testing positive for Covid-19, her children and grandchildren said their goodbyes via Zoom shortly before she passed.  She was born in Elkin, North Carolina daughter of the late Dillard Grant Guyer and Lena Edna Gentry Guyer where she was one of ten siblings who grew up on a dairy farm. She was humble of her family lineage that pre-dates our country and history of North Carolina.  Her ancestors arrived on the Mayflower and fought in the American Revolution. After graduating from Elkin High School, she moved to Washington DC, and went to work for the FBI.

While in DC she met Mike, the love of her life.  They were married at St. Stephen’s Catholic Church in North Carolina and were happily married for 61 years.  Following their marriage, they moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where she continued to work with the FBI until the birth of their first son Michael, Jr.  While in Pittsburgh, they had two more children, Lisa and Guy.  In 1970 they moved to Idaho Falls where they have lived ever since. Their daughter LeAnn was born in Idaho.She loved to garden, have lunch with her friends, volunteer at St. Vincent’s, and along with her daughters was actively involved with Girl Scouts and youth golf.  She attended Christ the King church.  She enjoyed making family meals and celebrating the holidays with her family.  She adored her grandchildren and spending time with them.  She was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend; she will be greatly missed. Along with her parents, Kay is preceded in passing by her loving husband Michael Stephen Vargo; her sisters, Maurine Wagoner, Hilda Wilcoxen, Vena Sprinkle, Linda McCann, and Patsy Jo Guyer; and her brothers, Marvin Guyer, D.G. Guyer, Bill Guyer, and Ervin Guyer. She is survived by her four children Michael Vargo, Jr., partner Anita Douglas, of Pinedale, Wyoming, Lisa Vargo, husband Troy Shearer, of Seattle, Washington, Guy Vargo, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, and LeAnn Vargo Scalzo, husband David Scalzo, of Seattle, Washington; two grandchildren, Ariel Adams and Colin Shearer; two step-grandchildren, Nick Scalzo and Luke Scalzo; and many nieces,nephews and extended family members.

Mike and Kay lived at Fairwinds for the last several years.  The family would like to thank the staff at Fairwinds and all providers who assisted Kay (including Mark Osadchey who performed miracles as her physical therapist, OneSource Home Health, and Alliance Hospice)  for the loving care they provided to Kay and Mike during their time at Fairwinds.

Due to the impact of COVID-19, a memorial service and reception will be held in the future (hopefully late summer 2021) when it is safe to do so and the family and friends can gather to celebrate her life along with the life of her beloved Mike.

Michael Stephen Vargo (Mike), 91, passed away on December 2, 2020, shortly after his family said their goodbyes to him via a Zoom call.  He passed away at EIRMC due to COVID-19.

Mike was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to his parents Michael Vargo and Anna Karas Vargo.  He was the third of three children.  After graduating as valedictorian from high school at St. Francis de Salles in Pittsburgh, Mike attended the University of Pittsburgh where he graduated with a degree in electrical engineering and attended graduate schools at the University of Maryland and the University of Pittsburgh. As a young teenager growing up during WWII and witnessing the sacrifices made by other young men and families, Mike was inspired to dedicate his career to service and protect his country, community, friends, and family as a nuclear engineer.

He was particularly proud of his contribution during his early career to building the first nuclear-powered U.S. Navy surface vessels, the USS Long Beach missile-cruiser (CGN-9) and the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) aircraft carrier, and also his work on the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67), USS Nimitz (CVN-68), USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69), and USS Robert E. Lee (SSBN-601).

While in Washington, DC he met Kay, the love of his life.  They were married at St. Stephen’s Catholic Church in North Carolina and were happily married for 61 years.  Mike and Kay moved and started a family while he continued his work for the Westinghouse-Bettis Atomic Power Division in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  In 1970, he moved his family to Idaho Falls to head the AIW Modification Project at the Naval Reactors Facility for the Atomic Energy Commission at the NRTS by Westinghouse.  Mike enjoyed the environment and community in Idaho Falls and he chose to stay in Idaho.  His career and dedication continued at the Idaho National Energy Laboratory (INEL) when he finally retired in 1995 overseeing Occupational Safety and Health Act (OHSA) at the site, the cornerstone legislation for workplace health and safety, and consulting in clean up audits at Three Mile Island and Rocky Flats.

Mike was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend; he will certainly be missed by all who knew and loved him.  He encouraged the importance of education, hard work, kindness, humility and spent countless hours teaching and living these values with his family.  Mike was an avid golfer, a true baseball fan, and loved cheering for the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Known by his close friends as “The Commish”, he consistently brought friends together to enjoy life at local golf courses and events and was a proud longtime member of the Idaho Falls Country Club.  After moving to Idaho, his love of the outdoors was shared with his family during all seasons with golfing, fishing, skiing, hockey, ice skating and camping with frequent trips to Sun Valley, Jackson Hole, Grand Targhee, Yellowstone, and many more National Parks and Forests across the West.  He proudly coached his sons’ baseball teams from T-ball up to American Legion, was active in the Scouts, and coached and cheered on his children and grandchildren at their various sporting events.

Along with his parents, Mike is preceded in passing by his sisters, Elizabeth Keeney and Josephine Stempkowski.  He was survived by twenty-nine days by his loving wife, Kay Guyer Vargo, and is now survived by his four children Michael Vargo, Jr., partner Anita Douglas, of Pinedale, Wyoming, Lisa Vargo, husband Troy Shearer, of Seattle, Washington, Guy Vargo, of Idaho Falls, Idaho and LeAnn Vargo Scalzo, husband David Scalzo, of Seattle, Washington; two grandchildren, Ariel Adams and Colin Shearer; two step grandchildren, Nick Scalzo and Luke Scalzo; and his niece, Deb Moreland, husband Jim, of Mars, Pennsylvania, and nephew Mark Stem, wife Judy, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Due to the impact of COVID-19, a memorial service and reception will be held in the future (hopefully late summer 2021) when it is safe to do so and the family and friends can gather to celebrate his life along with the life of his beloved Kay.

For anyone who is not taking the coronavirus seriously, the family urges you to please wear a mask, practice social distancing, wash your hands, and limit social gatherings to help prevent any further avoidable deaths.  Mikewas dedicated to protecting others and we hope all will be inspired to do the same.

Funeral Mass will be held at Christ the King Catholic Church,  1690 E 17th Street, Idaho Falls, ID 83404, at 11:00am on Friday, August 13th, with luncheon at the parish hall to follow.  The family will welcome all who are able to attend.