Vincent Ray Ragels

Vincent Ragels sadly left this world to join his Heavenly Father on October 4, 2024, holding the hand of his loving and devoted wife, Debbie Ragels. Vincent and Debbie had been married for 39 wonderful years and said their vows to one another at the Circus Circus hotel in Las Vegas, NV on August 13th, 1985; they would often joke about their lives truly being a “three-ring circus”.

Vincent and Debbie were blessed with two wonderful sons, Steven and Christopher, and Vincent was extremely proud to be their father. He was a family man, always making sure nobody sat idle for very long. Labor Day weekend in 1986 he introduced his bride, and their 3-month-old son, Steven, to camping. To make sure Steven stayed warm he was bundled up in a bright orange Bronco’s outfit- and to make sure Debbie enjoyed camping just as much as Vincent did, he made sure she had all her favorite creature comforts. He put sheets on the thin mattress of their red and white striped canvas pop-up camper (yes, it looked like a circus tent), he put REAL flowers on the table, and made a steak dinner- all to ensure Debbie loved camping. It’s fair to say Vincent’s tricks did the job as this was the beginning of 35 years of camping together.

Vincent was very proud of his military career, serving 20 years in the United States Air Force. He often talked about traveling 13 countries and even having an audience with the Pope. Not too bad for a young man from Edgemont, SD, population just over 1,000. He worked as a tour guide briefly at the Denver Mint after retiring from the Air Force. After that he worked for the VA in Hot Springs, SD until he was medically retired in 2003.

Vincent survived a triple bypass at the age of 42, several heart attacks, stage three colon cancer, and stage three chronic kidney disease. Debbie always referred to him as her “walking miracle”, but after a total knee replacement on September 30th he unfortunately could not recover due to various cardiac events while trying to recover. He may not have been able to try out his new knee here on earth, but we are sure he is chasing angels in heaven. He is dearly missed by family and friends.