Frederic Lee Vargo

Born April 24, 1941, in South Bend, Indiana, to Steve and Lydia Vargo, Fred grew up with his brothers Ned, Ron, and Jim and his sister, Lydia. From his father, he learned to work with his hands, the value of hard work, and the responsibility of providing for a family. From his mother came an example of caring for people through the everyday acts of feeding, nurturing, and looking after them. His family also helped shape his lifelong love of fishing, hunting, camping, and the outdoors.

Fred graduated from Washington High School in South Bend before attending Hanover College, where the outgoing football player met a gifted English major named Emilieann “Cookie” Howard. Cookie initially regarded Fred as something of a “dumb jock,” an assessment Fred apparently set out to change. He swept her off her feet, both literally and figuratively, on the dance floor. When they were apart, Fred filled letters with how much he loved and missed her and his hopes for the life they would build together. Their college courtship began a partnership that would last more than six decades.

Fred devoted his professional life to education. He spent the majority of his teaching career at Ben Davis High School, where he taught subjects including Business Law and Keyboarding and coached football. He also taught Driver’s Education for many years. A natural storyteller, Fred taught through practical experience, humor, persistence, and personal connection. He believed in learning by doing, a philosophy that extended well beyond his classroom.

Hard work was a constant throughout Fred’s life. During summers and time away from school, Fred was rarely idle, working in his father’s cabinet shop, at a steel mill, on construction jobs, and painting houses. Providing for his family mattered deeply to him, and he continued working for as long as his body allowed.

One of Fred’s favorite later jobs was working security in the long-term camping lots at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He loved making his rounds on a golf cart, talking with campers, sharing stories, making people laugh, and turning strangers into friends. Fred moved through life with a remarkable assumption that wherever he went, he was welcome—and more often than not, he was.

Fred was a hands-on father to his children, Kelly and Greg. He taught them to ride their bikes and later to drive, coached their teams, taught them to shoot a bow and arrow, and encouraged them to explore the creek and woods behind their home. He cooked family breakfasts, grilled, hosted fish fries, and found ways to make ordinary family life fun. Fred’s teaching did not end when he left school for the day; it was simply part of how he lived.

Fishing was one of Fred’s greatest pleasures and one of the threads connecting generations of his family. His older brother Ned helped introduce him to fishing and hunting, and Fred shared countless fishing trips with family and friends, including trips to Canada and many outings with his younger brother Jim. Later, he passed that love along to his grandsons, Max and Jack.

To Max and Jack, Fred was Bapa. When they were very young, he cared for them several days a week while their parents worked and he became an important part of their everyday lives. He took them fishing and boating on Eagle Creek Reservoir and delighted in simply spending time with them. As the boys grew, Bapa and Nana showed up—for soccer and baseball games, school programs, karate ceremonies, and graduations. Fred took enormous pride in his grandsons and in being part of their lives.

Fred and Cookie loved to travel, including family trips throughout the United States and Europe, Caribbean cruises, visits to their timeshare in Cancun, and travels with longtime friends. Travel gave them opportunities to learn, laugh, spend time with people they loved, and collect stories—which, in Fred’s case, were likely to be told more than once.

Faith and church community were important parts of Fred’s life. He grew up attending Our Lady of Hungary Catholic Church in South Bend and later shared decades of church life with Cookie at Chapel Rock Christian Church in Indianapolis. Fred served as a deacon, and he and Cookie served as youth-group leaders. In their later years, they continued to value worship and fellowship through services offered within their nursing community by the Zionsville Fellowship pastors.

Fred had a gift for making people feel at ease. He was exuberant, affectionate, funny, and rarely too concerned with preserving his dignity if sacrificing it could get a laugh. Beneath that booming personality was a man who worked hard, loved deeply, and expressed much of that love by doing: teaching, fixing, cooking, providing, coaching, fishing, caring for grandchildren, and simply showing up.

Fred was survived by his beloved wife, Emilieann “Cookie” Howard Vargo; his daughter, Kelly Vargo Bowe, and her husband, Ted Bowe; his son, Gregory Christopher Vargo; his grandsons, Max Bowe and Jack Bowe; his younger brother, Jim Vargo; and treasured nieces, nephews, extended family members, and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Steve and Lydia Vargo; his brothers, Ned and Ron Vargo; and his sister, Lydia Vargo Kolach.

Fred leaves behind a lifetime of stories, laughter, lessons, and memories, and countless people whose lives were made richer by knowing him. His big personality, generous spirit, humor, and love for his family will be deeply missed.

Fred’s beloved Cookie followed him in death on September 7, 2026. A memorial service celebrating their lives together will be held at Chapel Rock Christian Church on October 17, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. Guests are invited to gather before the service, beginning at 10:00 a.m., to view a collection of photographs and mementos from Fred and Cookie’s lives, with a bit of additional time to visit and view the displays following the service.

In lieu of flowers, our family asks that you consider making a donation in Fred and Cookie’s memory to the Wayne Township Education Foundation or Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Indiana.

Wayne Township Education Foundation: https://wtef.wayne.k12.in.us/give

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Indiana: https://www.rmhccin.org/donate