Manuel (Vic) Vigo-Torres passed away on June 13, 2026, after a long struggle with dementia and kidney issues. Born in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico on January 17, 1941, he was 85 years old when he passed. He spent his childhood on the family sugarcane plantation in Puerto Rico, his teenage years in the Bronx in New York City and moved to Colorado in the late 1960’s.

Vic enlisted in the Air Force in 1958 and had a twenty-year-long military career. Among many other roles, he notably served in the Wild Weasels during the Vietnam War. He married his wife of 57 years, Jean Cherry, on June 21,1969 at Lowry Air Force Base. Vic kept his pilot license, and his children have fond memories of flying over Broomfield with him in a Cessna that took off from Jeffco airport.

After retiring from the Air Force as a Technical Sergeant, Vic had a long career as an engineer that he was very proud of. He worked in many fields and authored thousands of pages of technical literature. Vic was employed at STC and Lockheed Martin for many years. He also worked for 20 years as a government contractor within the aerospace industry. He worked on many government projects, notably the Magellan spacecraft and other projects for NASA, including the International Space Station. He also did a significant amount of teaching in electronics, avionics, topics related to the Space Shuttle and engineering in general in the military, and the private sector.

He was a Shriner, Freemason and 32nd degree Master Mason.  Both before and after he retired as an aerospace engineer, he was involved with volunteer work in the community. He did home improvement and adaptation for people through Broomfield Senior Services, and he was a member of the Broomfield Capital Improvements Committee. He was also an Odyssey (Olympics) of the Mind judge for several years. But perhaps he was most proud of the work he did with Shriner’s Children at St. Lukes Presbyterian Hospital.

He enjoyed traveling, reading, building electronic devices, being a pilot, vintage Triumph sports cars, and spending time with his family.

He is survived by his loving wife Jean Vigo-Torres, his two children Sarah Smith (Grand Junction, CO), Greg (Katja) Vigo-Torres (Bilbao, Spain), his brother Alfred Vigo, his two grandchildren, Brady and Breck Smith, sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Tom and Judy Herbolsheimer and several extended family members.

There will be a Celebration of Life ceremony at the Constellation Masonic Lodge #184.

2255 Lake Ave, Thornton, CO at 11:00 am on June 27, 2026.

In lieu of flowers, the family would like donations to be sent in the name of Manuel Vigo-Torres to either Tunnels to Towers (dogood.t2t.org) or Broomfield Easy Ride (280 Spader Way, Broomfield CO, 80020).