Obituary of David W. Tibbetts

David W. Tibbetts, age 66, of Vesper, WI passed away peacefully, with his wife at his side, on Monday, August 19, 2019 at the Tomah VA Medical Center in Tomah, WI.

A celebration of David’s life will be held on Saturday, August 24, 2019 at 12:00 P.M. at Herman-Taylor Funeral Home. Deacon James Johnston will officiate. Full military honors will be conducted immediately following the service. Family and friends will gather to share stories and memories of David prior to the service beginning at 10:00 A.M. on Saturday at the funeral home. Herman-Taylor Funeral Home is honored to be assisting the Tibbetts Family. Online condolences may be expressed at www.taylorfuneralhome.net.

David was born May 14, 1953 in Wisconsin Rapids to Bernard and Annabell (Murray) Tibbetts. He graduated from Lincoln High School as a member of the Class of 1971. David married the love of his life, Debra Magee, on November 11, 1972 at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Wisconsin Rapids. He honorably served his country in the United States Navy from 1972 until 1976 having been stationed at Norfolk, VA and Key West Naval Base in FL.  After a short break from the service David decided to reenlist in the Navy from 1980 until 1985. David and his family were stationed at Pearl Harbor, HI. Throughout his years in the Navy he traveled all over the world. David worked as a mechanic at the Auto Clinic for several years. He was a night-time supervisor at the Wisconsin Rapids AA Center. He cherished getting together with family and friends for special times like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

David enjoyed fixing up and riding motorcycles and he was also an avid photographer. David was a member of the NRA, the Disabled American Veterans, and the Wood County Rifle and Pistol Club. In his youth, he loved to hunt and fish. David's grandsons were his pride and joy and he loved them deeply. He is loved and will be dearly missed.

David is survived by his loving wife, Debra; son Chris (Shannon) Tibbetts, two grandchildren; Jordan and Justin; his mom Annabell; five siblings; Don (Nanci) Tibbetts, Steve (Dawn) Tibbetts, Ken (Roseanne) Tibbetts, Sandy Porter and Lisa (Steve) Radtke; brothers-in-law; Tom Osowski and Rick Chialda. David is also survived by many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and other loving family.

David is preceded in death by his dad Bernard, three sisters; Patty, Judy and Diane, mother and father-in-law; Robert (Julie) Magee and brother-in-law Bobby Magee.

A special thank you goes out to the Tomah VA staffs of buildings 401 and 409, for their excellent care and compassion, given to David over the past 4 years. The family would also like to thank Mike and Jackie Buchanan, for all the love, care and time that was spent with David on their weekend visits.