Arthur Henry Vagts passed away peacefully from this life to his eternal home on July 5, 2024, at 83 years of age.
Art was the third born of four children to Henry and Clara (Meinberg) Vagts, on Sept. 26, 1940. He grew up on the family farm on Highway 6 outside of Pleasant Dale, where he attended District 45 country school as a young boy and graduated from Milford High in 1958. After graduation, Art went to tech school to be a diesel mechanic, but soon discovered his love of carpentry and chose to take that path. He built many houses in his life, four of which became family homes.
Art met Joyce Sieck in 1963 and the couple married in October of that year. They later bought the home place and farmland of Art’s family and he farmed it until 1984. Four children were born to Art and Joyce, Brenda, Linda, Dean and Andrew. In 1985, after selling the farm, they moved to Kearney, where he continued to farm for a short time and started Art Vagts & Sons Construction.
Art’s greatest joy in life, aside from his family, was cutting firewood for himself and for others. He spoke of spending time in the woods up until his final days, saying “surely God would have him cut wood in heaven to provide warmth for all the saints.” Art and Joyce were married for 51 years, until her death in 2015.
He was a loving and godly husband and father, always guiding his family in the ways of the Lord. Art was a gentle and steady soul, which by his example along with his wife, led many to Jesus. He was an amazing father and kind grandpa. His legacy will live on for years to come and he will be dearly missed. Heaven is our hope until we are reunited.
Art was welcomed into heaven by his wife, Joyce; his parents, Henry and Clara Vagts; brother, Ivan and his wife LaVina; sister, MaryAnn Shallenburg; and brother-in-law, Bill Duffy.
Those left to remember him are his children and their spouses, Brenda and Doug Kremer (Kearney), Linda and Thad Blodgett (Central City), Dean and Becky Vagts (Anna, Texas), and Andrew and Misty Vagts (Axtell); 21 grandchildren and 32 great-grandchildren (three more on the way); sister, Leola Duffy (Superior); brother-in-law, Don Shallenberg (Fort Collins, Colorado); sisters-in-law, Kathy Schweer (Iowa City, Iowa), Patty Cooley (Lemoyne), Sandy D'Agastino (Chicago, Illinois), Rhonda Pypes (Iowa City, Iowa), and Mary Glaser (Omaha); and numerous nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 20, at Kearney Grace Church in Kearney with burial at a later date at Pleasant Dale Cemetery. Memorial contributions are suggested to the Pleasant Dale Volunteer Fire Department. Arrangements by O’Brien Straatmann Redinger Funeral and Cremation Services in Kearney.
