More detail on this person: Obituary Send Flowers Col. Herbert Melvin Fix USMC Col. Herbert Melvin Fix USMC retired, passed this life to the next on August 22, 2021 He was born on August 9, 1934 in Elk City Ok. He is survived by his beloved wife Doris Frei Fix, whom he affectionately called B4, big, beautiful, buxom, babe, and their blended family of six children Kelly Shurbet, Cathy Zehnle, Scott Zehnle and his wife Bouasy, Stacey Sue Fix, Robin Dalusung , Laura Kruse and her husband Daniel Kruse Their 8 grandchildren Sean Shurbet and his wife Alicia, Harvey Galler, Joshua Shurbet and his wife Vanita, Nichole Reynolds and her husband Paul, Jessica Robinson, Ashley Mendoza and her husband, Kevin, Lt. Tiffany Zehnle USCG, Dr. Samantha DeCampo and her husband Dr. Guillermo DeCampo, Isis Kruse and Nevaeh Kruse, their 22 great grandchildren, His sister in law Donita Fix and nine nieces and nephews and their families. He is preceded in death by his parents Hubert and Opal Fix, his twin Brother Hubert Velvin Fix, sisters Nora Agnes Fix, Jolene and her husband Ulis Mikles, Ida Lee and her husband Carol Kinney, Grandson Steven Galler, brother in law Lowell Frei and His son in laws Paul Shurbet and Joey Dalusung. He is also survived by his second wife's four sons, whom he adopted and helped raise. He spent his formative years on his family farm in Elk City, Oklahoma. He took delight in telling people that he went to a one room schoolhouse until the third grade and the only grade with two students was his and his twin brother Hubert's. He graduated at the top of his class from Merritt High School in Elk City, Oklahoma, received his bachelor's degree in teaching from Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Weatherford, Oklahoma and his master's degree in business from Auburn University Auburn, Alabama. He loved telling people stories of his childhood on the farm and the antics he and his brother Hubert got into. When he was a senior in college, he went to the state fair of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City, there he saw the blue angels. From that moment he knew what he wanted to do, he wanted to fly. After graduating from SWOSU, he and his buddy drove to Dallas and took the officer and pilot candidacy test. He passed with flying colors; he was going to fly. He spent the next 25 years serving his country as a United States Marine. He retired in 1981 with the rank of Colonel. He was a proud Vietnam Veteran. During his military career he commanded four Marine squadrons and worked on the team that created the Marine Corp Tactical Data System for Vietnam. Most notably and the thing that he was most proud of in his military career was commanding and leading HMH 463 during the evacuations of Saigon and Phnom Penh Vietnam at the end of the Vietnam War. He led his squadron in and out of Vietnam under enemy fire bringing thousands American Citizens and American sympathizers to safety. He was awarded the Harmon Aviation Trophy, a set of three international trophies, to be awarded annually to the world's outstanding aviator, aviatrix, and aeronautics. Which is housed in The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C He was somewhat in awe of receiving the Harmon Award, because of other recipients whom he admired and looked up to. In 1975, his hometown of Elk City, Oklahoma held a parade in his honor, and awarded him the keys to the city and June 27, 1977 was declared Col. Herbert Fix day in the state of Oklahoma. He finished his military career at Naval Systems Command in Arlington, Va. When asked by one of his children why he didn't pursue the rank of general, he replied," it took me a few tries and a lot of years to find the love of my life, "I want to enjoy every moment of it!" Which he did for the rest of his life. After retirement from the Marines, he helped his wife Doris with her outstanding real estate career, and together they built an impressive portfolio of real estate sales and holdings. They later moved to Daytona Beach Shores, Florida, where they continued to manage their real estate portfolio. He enjoyed flying, fishing, boating, golfing, traveling and people. He loved talking to old friends especially fellow Vietnam Veterans. He will be dearly missed by many. A Visitation will be held from 4-6pm on Thursday September 9, 2021 in the Chapel at Lohman Funeral Home Daytona. The Funeral Service will be held at 10:00am on Friday September 10, 2021 at First United Methodist Church of Port Orange, Florida. There will be a memorial service at the Ponce Inlet Veterans Memorial at 12:00pm Following the Funeral Service. He will be buried with full military honors on Monday September 13, 2021 at 2:00pm in Cape Canaveral National Cemetery, Mims, Florida. In lieu of flowers donations may be made in his memory to The Marine Corp Heritage Foundation Museum, Quantico, Virginia.
Burial information: Cape Canaveral National Cemetery
This information was last updated 07/19/2022
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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