Werner C. Vieh's Obituary
Werner was born on August 9th, 1936 in Saarbrücken, a town in Germany near the French border. His father was German and his mother French so he was brought up in a bilingual environment. Unfortunately World War II broke out a few years after his birth, but his childhood was a happy one thanks to his loving family. Even though he did not attend much school during those years he was a brilliant pupil and switched from the German schools to the French at seven and continued on to be a French engineer. At 18, he chose his mother’s nationality and because there was a mandatory military service in France of 36 months, he served as a lieutenant in the French Artillery. When the war between France and Algeria ended he was released after only 18 months. He could resume his civilian life and married Marie-Claude. Shortly after he started working for the mines in Lorraine and stayed there for just one year. Around the same time he and his wife welcomed a little girl named Caroline, who was his pride and joy.Then the family moved to Alsace where Werner started a new job as the head of a small manufacturing company. During this time he developed an interest for tennis, photography and even got his private pilot’s license. When that company closed after three years he decided to take a chance and apply for a job in Switzerland which was right across the border. He was successful and he spent eight years in the charming town of Vevey on the lake of Geneva. He was very much appreciated by his employees and his employer alike.There, nine years after Caroline came Jérôme who made the family complete. Life was good and peaceful with hikes in the mountains in the fall and ski excursions in the winter. As they were living in an apartment they purchased an old farm in a remote village of Southern France that had to be entirely renovated. This became the project of Werner’s life. He drew plans, worked on it himself and the whole family camped there every summer of the first few years. Bit by bit it became a beautiful family home to which Werner was very attached. There he could welcome friends and family and everyone who came to “Manas” had fond memories even if they had to work a bit during their visits!But fate came in the form of the closing (again) of the main company. Werner had to look for employment and this time he took a position as general manufacturing chief with a company that made train equipment. He had a lot of responsibilities and the family had to move closer to the job. They ended up in a pleasant neighborhood and everybody was happy. After just three years this company also faltered and Werner thought he was cursed! But since this last company had subsidiaries in the US he thought he could start anew in that country. It was a big step and not an easy one with one teenager and a four year old. But they decided to go for it. He had studied English at school but the rest of the family did not speak English at all. Werner was named CEO of a subsidiary of a Swiss company in Huntsville, Alabama that manufactured large presses for the American market. It was an exciting time for him to start a company and watch it grow. But it was also very demanding and adjusting to a new culture is never easy. Werner also took responsibilities in the community and at one point was part of the Chamber of Commerce and even chair of the local Better Business Bureau. He gave several conferences on the trade between the US and Europe and life continued until his retirement at age 67.In the meantime the children had grown. Caroline had married her high-school sweetheart and they had two grandkids. Soon after Jérôme followed with two boys of his own. Werner adored them all and family was very important to him since he had no siblings. In order to be closer to at least one child, Werner and Marie moved to Tulsa in 2003. Werner volunteered for Score for a year until he decided to enjoy his free time. They went to France every summer until illness and accident took over two years ago and prevented them from traveling. Since then it has been a long succession of hospital stays, rehab, and finally completely home-bound. After a very productive and fulfilling life Werner died peacefully at home Thursday the 10th of September with his loved ones, one month after celebrating his 79th birthday and their 52nd wedding anniversary. Private family service to be held.
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