Rodney "Rod" Vickery

January 16, 1944 - September 16, 2017

Rodney Nesbit Vickery, Jr. was born in Denver, Colorado on January 16, 1944 and passed to his rest September 17, 2017. As a young child, he moved with his family to Roeland Park, Kansas where he attended Bishop Miege High School. After receiving his undergraduate degree in English from the University of Kansas, Rod enlisted in the United States Navy and served a year in Vietnam. While in the Navy, Rod earned the dubious distinction of being “the worst excuse for a sailor” his superiors had ever seen. After his honorable discharge, Rod returned to Kansas with his wife and daughter and completed his Masters Degree in English from KU. But Rod was always someone who craved adventure, and when he was offered a job in Iran in the early 1970s he jumped at the chance. For the next decade various job opportunities took him from Iran to Chicago to Saudi Arabia before he eventually settled permanently in Orange County. For many years, he could reliably be found biking the trails and canyons around Mission Viejo and beyond. He and his wife Judy took multiple biking trips around the United States, exploring trails in most of the western states and as far east as North Carolina. In counterpoint to his constant physical activity, Rod never met a cheeseburger or dessert he didn’t like. He could polish off a Costco pumpkin pie in a couple of sittings and was always game to try new restaurants and foods. As his multiple English degrees can attest, Rod had a lifelong love affair with words and was an accomplished poet and storyteller. His grandchildren especially enjoyed his creative, and not necessarily kid-appropriate, retellings of classic stories. It’s safe to say that Rod was almost always the funniest person in a room. He was instantly liked by everyone he met and his sarcastic wit was well known. Never one to take life too seriously, Rod had the priceless ability to find humor in almost every situation. The world is a less joyful place without him, and he will be missed. Rod is survived by his wife, Judy; daughter, Amy Engel (Brian); step-daughters, Heidi Shurtz (Bryan) and Wendy Todaro (Jim); step-son, Ian Fullmer; grandchildren, Graham and Quinn Engel, Tanner and Jason Shurtz, and Emily, Natalie, and Lauren Todaro; brothers, Bill (Angela) and Bob (Fran); and nieces and nephews, Christian, Emily, Billy, and Timmy.