Herman Gustave Dignen Sr.

HURLOCK - Herman Gustave Dignen Sr., 76, passed away on Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2007 at his home.

He was born Sept. 20, 1931, in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, the son of the late Hugh Aloysius Dignen and Christiana Louisa Heidmann Dignen.

He played semi-pro football for the Annapolis Athletic Association in the 1940s. He served his country in the U.S. Air Force from 1949 to 1952 and worked as a pipe fitter for the Naval Academy in Annapolis. He retired after 32 years as an electrical trade branch manager in the Public Works Department.

He was an avid hunter and fisherman, and had cared for a hunting club for many years.

He is survived by his wife of almost 57 years, Betty Louise Wilson Dignen, whom he married on Dec. 1, 1950; two sons, Timothy Dignen and his fiancee, Jamie, of Denton, and Herman G. Dignen of Florida; a daughter, Pamela G. Payne and her husband, Curtis, of Hurlock; 11 grandchildren; a brother, Warren Dignen in Florida and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by four brothers, Hugh Dignen, Howard Dignen, Carl Dignen and Fritz Dignen.

Memorial services will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday, at the Framptom Funeral Home, P.A. in Federalsburg with the Rev. Denzil Cheek officiating. Inurnment will follow at the Eastern Shore Veterans' Cemetery in Beulah. Friends may call at the funeral home from 9 to 10 a.m.

Contributions may be made in his memory to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, 6 Herndon Ave., Annapolis, MD 21401.