Wilbur Dumbaugh had powerful voice
Wilbur Glenn Dumbaugh, 83, died Thursday in the hospice unit at VA Butler Healthcare following a lengthy battle against cancer.
Born in Butler, 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, Tenn., 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, New York. 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 Mount 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, Ariz.; two granddaughters, Audrey Jo Schlicht of Monroeville and Kerry Beth Schlicht of Eugene, Ore.; a son-in-law, C. Andrew "Andy" Schlicht of Butler; 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.
<B>DUMBAUGH</B> — Visitation for Wilbur Glenn Dumbaugh, who died Thursday, July 22, 2010, will be from 7 to 9 p. m. Saturday and from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday at the <B>Thompson-Miller Funeral Home</B>, 124 E. North St. Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Hill United Presbyterian Church at 501 Second St, Butler, with the Rev. Clark Sawyer officiating. Burial will be at Butler County Memorial Park.Memorial donations may be made to the Musical Theatre Guild of Butler, P.O. Box 2001, Butler, PA 16001; or to Hill United Presbyterian Church.Information and a private guest book are available at www.thompson-miller.com.
