Captain ‘Vern’ was a ‘fishhead with a heart of gold’

Destin is minus a good fisherman.

Capt. Virgal Snellgrose Jr., 47, died Friday after spending more than a week in critical condition at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola.

Snellgrose of Destin flipped a Mercedes on White Point Road just north of the Mid-Bay Bridge the night of April 29.

The Florida Highway Patrol’s initial crash report listed the crash as fatal, but Snellgrose was taken to Twin Cities Hospital in Niceville and later to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, where he was put in critical care.

But this past Friday, “he went peacefully,” said Lois Malone, his “soulmate” for the past 15 years.

“He was a very generous and caring person,” Malone said. “If anybody needed anything he was always there.”

Malone recalls a time when Virgal, known as “Vern” on the fishing docks, literally took the shirt off his back and gave it to a person who needed one.

“That’s what he did ... he had a caring heart,” she said.

Snellgrose, who docked his charter boat Windwalker II at East Pass Marina, came from a long line of fisherman and had worked as a captain for more than 20 years.

During those years, Snellgrose has touched a lot of lives.

“I’m gonna miss him horribly bad,” said Capt. Andy Vaughn of the charter Special K, who docks his boat about three slips down from Snellgrose.

“He was a fishhead just like the rest of us and a damn good fisherman with a heart of gold,” said Vaughn, a friend of more than 20 years.

“He always had something good to say. I never heard him say anything bad about anybody.”

Capt. Olin Marler of Olin Marler Fishing Charters described Snellgrose as a very likable, very congenial guy who always had a smile on his face.

“I thought a lot of Virgal,” Marler said, noting he was just talking with him about a week before the accident.

“He’s one of the most likable and lovable guys,” said Steve Regan of the charter boat Cutting Edge.

Regan ran a few trips on the Windwalker II while Snellgrose was in the hospital to help him keep his business going.

“He never met a stranger. He was very caring and didn’t have selfish bone in his body,” Regan said. “He always thought of others first.”

Regan also described Snellgrose as a perfectionist. Sometimes it would take Snellgrose two days to do a 10 minute job because he wanted it done right, Regan said.

“He was more than a friend, he was like a brother,” Regan said. “He’s had my back as long as I’ve known him.

“He’s going to be missed every day ... he was extremely loved and he won’t be forgotten.”

Malone, who Snellgrose called his “soulmate,” said memorial services are tentatively scheduled for 4:30 p.m., Monday at Grace Lutheran Church. Afterward, family and friends will scatter his ashes in the Gulf of Mexico.

Malone said Snellgrose always said when he died he wanted to be “fish food” in keeping with his heritage.