Dan Isgrig, 83, of Fredericksburg, VA, passed away Wednesday, July 16, 2003, at Mary Washington Hospital. Dan was born and raised on a tobacco farm in Paris, Kentucky. He continued with his love of the land as a soil scientist, for the US Department of Agriculture, from which he retired in 1980 after more than 30 years of service. During this tenure, he mapped counties in Kentucky, Central California, and Virginia. Throughout his career, he collected arrowheads which accumulated to a significant collection. In 2001, he and his wife donated the collection to the Virginia Museum of Natural History in Martinsville, VA.
He served his country as a World War II B-26 bomber pilot with the Army Air Corps based in England. On January 14, 1944, his plane was shot down over Germany where he spent the remainder of the War as a POW.
After his release, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Dan retired from the Air Force Reserves as a Major. Survivors include his wife of 61 years, Mary Elizabeth Isgrig of Fredericksburg; a daughters, Donna Isgrig of Ruther Glen, VA; a brother, David Isgrig and his wife, Ruby of Paris, KY; two nieces, Wilma Hammons of Eustis, FL and her husband, Tom and daughter, Katie, and Cynthia Brill of Lincoln, NE; two nephews, Peter Brill of Coos Bay, OR and his wife, Bianca, and Roger Brill of Cynthiana, KY, and his sons, Quentin and Andrew. Dan is preceded in death by a daughter, Edith Isgrig; a son, Dan Isgrig III, and three sisters, Mary Eleanor Isgrig, Isabel Isgrig, and Naomi Brill. At Dan’s request, no services will be held. Following cremation, the ashes will be interred in Paris Cemetery, Paris, KY. The family requests that donations be made to the American Heart Association or the Alzheimers Association. Online condolences may be sent to foundandsons.com
Published by Lexington Herald-Leader on Jul. 19, 2003.