Charles Wayne Zumpft

October 6, 1933 - December 4, 2023

Charles Wayne Zumpft (Pug)— son, husband, dad, grandpa, friend— died on December 4, 2023. He was 90 years young. Pug was born in Ohio in 1933 as the 4th Charles Zumpft, with each differentiated by their middle names. As a baby, he earned his nickname because of his cute pug nose —a name that would stick for life.

Pug attended Fostoria High School in Ohio. He was active in school, played multiple instruments, and had a great singing voice. During his senior year, he performed as Major General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance and would often regale his kids years later with songs from the show.

Pug attended Ohio State University as an undergraduate, going on to complete his medical degree in 1960. He played tuba in the marching band and proudly dotted the “i” in the school’s name. He and Joy, his first wife, took their honeymoon on the 1955 Rose Bowl-bound train with the band to cheer on the OSU team. Pug remained a devout follower of all OSU activities throughout his life.

In 1961, Pug and Joy moved to Las Vegas with their three children, Lisa, Cyndia, and Charles Scott (Chuck). Pug was a Medical Officer in the Air Force and served at nearby Nellis Air Force base for about two years. The same year, the family won a ski boat with a trailer. The new boat led to many, many weekends spent at Lake Mead where the entire family learned to water ski and drive the boat. Pug, Joy, and the kids also became avid scuba divers and particularly enjoyed the freshwater clams out of Lake Mead!

After Pug left the Air Force in 1964, he went into private practice as a general practitioner. He had many diverse roles in the medical community including being involved in establishing the first trauma center at Southern Nevada Memorial (now University Medical Center). After leaving private practice, he remained in emergency medicine for over 10 more years. Pug was known as the motorcycle riding doc and often drove to work on his Honda Goldwing. He loved mentoring new doctors and nurses and was always available to help them improve their skills. He also appreciated it when his students were able to teach him something new. Pug never stopped learning or being interested in doing a better job.

Pug and Joy were very active with their kids. In addition to scuba diving, all the kids learned to snow ski and ride horses. Pug was the illustrious leader of the Saratoga Rough Riders, a 4-H club of about 50 members. He enjoyed supporting all his kids’ activities in addition to teaching them life skills like how to parallel park and back a trailer—skills he eventually also taught to many of his grandkids.

Joy passed in 1975 and Pug met and married Karen Fuzak in 1976, merging her family with his. Pug and Karen had an incredible life together, traveling all over the world by motorhome, cruise ship, motorcycle—whatever mode of transport was available, they would take it! When Marie (Karen’s daughter) had the first grandchild, Sandy, a whole new adventure began. They eventually welcomed grandkids from Chuck (Chase, Corbin, and Edwin) and Cyndia (Erika and Garret). Great grandkids eventually came, first to Sandy (Kylee and RJ), and in 2022 to Chase (Sawyer). Pug and Karen loved having all the kids join them in Utah for the summers and northern Nevada for the winters. They often celebrated Christmas at their Utah cabin and each family would snowmobile to the grandparents’ house in the woods.

Pug is sorely missed, and his family and friends cannot believe he is gone.

Pug was a member of the marching band from 1953 through 1955. He played Sousaphone in K-Row.