Vaden, Alfred Monroe

June 17, 1941 ~ August 22, 2012 Alfred Monroe Vaden, 71, of Blacksburg, passed away on Wednesday, August 22, 2012, at Garden Terrace, Salt Lake City, Utah, following heart and lung problems, and ending with end stage kidney failure. He lived with his daughter for the past year when he needed more care than he could provide for himself. Alfred Vaden is the son of the late Leonard and Minnie Vaden. He grew up in Blacksburg where he lived most of his life close to his brothers and sisters, eight of which are survived by him. Alfred is survived by his three children, Bradley Dean Vaden, of Los Angles, Calif., Traci Anne Vaden, of Sandy, Utah, and Bryan Cannon Vaden, of Fairbanks, Alaska. He also leaves behind seven grandchildren. Alfred is a veteran of the Vietnam War, where he served as an MP in the Army and was discharged honorably. Alfred also worked and loved his job as an animal control officer. He truly loved all animals and had a natural way with them. Alfred was a wonderful gardener and loved all of nature. He would spend hours wandering through the woods, working in his vegetable garden, or his many flower beds. Alfred often took the surplus vegetables from his garden to neighbors and friends and had an honor system for his berry patches where people could pick what they wanted. Alfred was also very artistic and loved to paint, draw, carve, do wood burning, and create beautiful flower arrangements with the flowers from his garden. Funeral Services will be held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, August 28, 2012, in the McCoy Funeral Home Chapel. In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests that any donations be made, in Alfred’s name, to the American Red Cross. The viewing will be held on Monday, August 27, 2012, from 6 to 8 p.m. at McCoy Funeral Home, Blacksburg, Va.