Mesothelioma Claims Fontana Man

FONTANA, California – “He was a person who never gave up. Who wanted to make right what was wrong in the world. And when it became apparent he could not win this battle, he accepted it with dignity and grace.”

The battle that finally defeated Frank Vidergar was fought with an attacker he had probably carried with him since the 1950s, that hid in his lungs and tissues for decades before rearing its head last summer. Vidergar was diagnosed in June with mesothelioma, a rare cancer that is caused by exposure to asbestos.

Mary Lou Vidergar lost her husband to mesothelioma on December 27. Frank Vidergar was 72. He was also an active, involved member of a tight-knit community and a devoted family man. Like so many others who lose their lives to the rare cancer caused by asbestos, Vidergar was the kind of man that others described as “salt of the earth”, the kind of man who served his country in the Navy and put in decades of work to make a better life for his family.

Unlike so many others, Vidergar did not work in construction or in the industrial fields. For years, he worked for the IRS in an office position. Chances are, though, that his exposure to asbestos happened long before that, in the years he served on board the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Boxer, or in the short time he worked for Kaiser Steel between high school and his enlistment.
Asbestos was one of the most effective insulators and fireproofing materials ever known. The naturally occurring mineral breaks down into long, fine fibers that can be woven into textiles and mixes easily into other substances. Its versatility made asbestos one of the most widely used materials – either alone or mixed with other ingredients – in construction, industry, factories, boat yards, ship building, insulation and many other industries. In the years leading up to and following World War II, asbestos was used in literally hundreds of applications and products on U.S. Navy ships, from gaskets and fittings to spray-applied insulation and boiler coatings to reduce heat transfer in engine rooms.

Asbestos also had a hidden other side, one that was well known to those who manufactured and sold asbestos and products containing asbestos. The miracle mineral was also a silent killer. Those fibers that are so durable and weave themselves so well into other substances become deadly when they are inhaled or ingested. The fibers lodge in bodily tissues, where the body can neither destroy them nor excrete them. Eventually, they can cause changes to cell structure, scarring and, in the most extreme cases mesothelioma, a cancer that affects the tissue that lines the organs. It can be decades before the symptoms of mesothelioma become obvious. By that time, the cancer has often reached untreatable stages.

Frank Vidergar will be missed by far more people than his wife, Mary Lou.

He was an active member of the Slavic Social Club, and longtime president of the Fontana Slovene Button Accordion Club. As an IRS agent, he instituted a work experience program for the deaf.
Vidergar served as president of the Fontana Slovene Button Accordion Club. He chaired Fontana’s Citizens Participation Advisory Committee and led the charge on numerous community projects, including a swimming pool for children in north Fontana.

Vidergar was diagnosed with mesothelioma in June. He managed to survive through one last Christmas with his family.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 14th, 2008 at 3:38 pm and is filed under Asbestos Exposure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.