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Wilbur Glenn Dumbaugh, 83, died July 22
in the hospice unit at Veteran's Medical Center in Butler following
a lengthy battle against cancer. Born in Butler on April 6, 1927, he
was a 1945 graduate of Butler High School and a 1950 graduate of
Westminster College, where he majored in voice and earned a
Bachelor's degree in music education.
Interrupting his college education to
join the Army Air Force, he served for one year in the army of
occupation in Japan and earned the rank of staff sergeant.
Dumbaugh decided against becoming a
music teacher and chose to enter the family business, Dumbaugh
Electric Inc. Music became his avocation. Blessed with a rich
baritone voice, he was soon in demand as a soloist.
He appeared with the Butler County,
McKeesport, Johnstown, Pittsburgh Youth, and Kingsport, TN, symphony
orchestras. He was guest soloist with the Clarion State College
Symphony and choir, the Bach Choir of Pittsburgh, and at the
Chautauqua Institution Amphitheater, NY. A former member of the
Mendelssohn Choir, he also performed with the Chatham College Opera
Workshop.
At various times he held the position
of baritone soloist with the Third Presbyterian, East Liberty,
Shadyside, and Mt. Lebanon Presbyterian churches. He was equally at
home on the concert and musical theater stages.
Locally, he first appeared with the
former Catholic Theater Guild as Edvard Grieg in Song of Norway. He
was the first president of the Musical Theatre Guild of Butler and
played the lead in the Pajama Game, Carousel, Fiddler on the Roof,
Man of La Mancha, Music Man, 1776, and South Pacific.
In addition to his busy music
schedule, he ran the family business and served a year as president
of the Butler Area Chamber of Commerce. As retirement neared he
explored the idea of doing commercials and appeared in several print
and TV commercials before being diagnosed with cancer. He decided to
pursue a lifelong dream and audition for the Civic Light Opera. In
two seasons he appeared in Fiorello, Seven Brides for Seven
Brothers, and Mame. He was in the CLO cast that also presented Mame
for a week in Atlanta, GA.
Dumbaugh was an elder in the
Presbyterian church and a member of Hill United Presbyterian Church
in Butler.
He is survived by his wife, Margaret
"Peg" Dumbaugh, whom he married June 24, 1950; a daughter, Kerry
Dumbaugh, of Springfield, VA; a sister, Hazel Mitchell, of
Flagstaff, AZ; two granddaughters, Audrey Jo Schlicht of
Monroeville, and Kerry Beth Schlicht of Eugene, OR; a son-in-law, C.
Andrew "Andy" Schlicht of Butler, and a brother-in-law, John Black
of Indiana, PA; and five nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by a
daughter, Tracey Jo Schlicht; a sister, Erla Mae Black; and his
parents, Florence and Earl Dumbaugh.
Visitation will be on Saturday, July
24, from 7-9 p.m. and on Sunday, July 25, from 2-4 p.m. and from 7-9
p.m. at Thompson-Miller Funeral Home, 124 E. North St. Services will
be at Hill United Presbyterian Church at 501 Second St, Butler, on
Monday, July 26 at 11 a.m. with the Rev. Clark Sawyer officiating.
Burial will be at Butler County Memorial Park.
Memorial donations may be made to the
Musical Theater Guild of Butler, PO Box 2001, Butler, PA 16001; or
to Hill United Presbyterian Church. |
A Life Remembered . . .