Gustav V. Shomos passed away Thursday morning, July 3, 2008 at Waukesha Memorial Hospital. Gus’s daughters, Monica and Audrey, and son-in-law, Dan, were present during his brief illness and at the time of death. Gus was born on September 17, 1921 in Chicago, the second of three children of Vasil and Alexandra Shomos. A first generation American of Albanian decent, Gus went on to live life to the fullest. His childhood years growing up on Artesian Avenue were at times challenging and included being taken away from his mother to Egypt by his father.  Gus was thirteen years old when his father died. His mother never remarried and raised him, older brother Harry and sister Olga, during the Depression years. It was in his high school years that Gus first began to learn dance. But like nearly all the young men of his generation, any aspirations for a career where put on hold by World War II. Although Gus was selected for flight training, ultimately, he was ordered to the Pacific as a crewmember on one of the new B29 long-range bombers. He survived 35 missions over Japan and later said no experience in his life matched the sheer terror and excitement of those dangerous flights. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. After the war, Gus graduated from Chicago Technical College and attended Illinois Institute. He worked in metallurgy, machine engineering, and eventually as a production manager at Howard Foundry in Chicago. He also continued to enjoy dance and in 1946 while dancing on figure skates, Gus met a beautiful young woman, named Veronica Cassidy. Veronica was also a dancer and on November 1, 1947, they married. Gus’s role as “best dad ever” began with the birth of Monica Jean in 1951 followed by Audrey Terese in 1954. As the only male in the family, Gus was doted on but that only strengthened his devotion to his wife and daughters. In 1964, with Veronica’s support, Gus left his job and a promotion at Howard Foundry to create a business in East Troy with two partners, Leo Klemowits and Paul Jacobson. The company, Wisconsin Precision Casting, was very successful and personally satisfying to Gus who sold his share of the company and retired in 1983. Gus thoroughly enjoyed his 25 years of retirement. He was a life long avid golfer of remarkable skill, which included carding a hole-in-one eight times. He and his golf buddies played several times each week whether in Wisconsin or Arizona, but he also loved to play (and usually defeat) young guys who could drive the ball a lot farther than him. In 2000, he won a gold medal in the Wisconsin Senior Olympics Golf Competition. He also loved to swim and for several years in a row, he won gold medals in Senior Olympic swimming competitions both in Arizona and Wisconsin. He and Veronica traveled the world in their early years of retirement, but their real passion was to dance. They so loved to dance it was woven into their life together. They danced three or more times a week, practiced for hours, attended numerous dance conferences, and shaped their very retirement around dance. They were exceptionally good ballroom dancers. As they got older and better, they frequently drew the attention of other dancers and observers who cleared the way to see them perform. Veronica, Gus’s beloved wife of nearly sixty years died in 2006. Gus continued to attend dances and golf, was enthralled with Sudoku, and loved to “tinker and problem solve”, especially if it involved the use of his metal lathe. Over the past year, Gus particularly enjoyed the company of another avid dancer, Ann Romanski of Denver. Gus was preceded in death by his wife Veronica, brother Harry, and parents. Gus is survived by two daughters, Monica Shomos (Ron Taylor), Austin, TX and Audrey Shomos (Dan Laux), Evansville, WI, and sister, Olga Damato, Roselle, IL. A memorial service of Gus’s life will be held on Tuesday, July 8, 2008, at 6:00PM, at Schmidt & Bartelt, 315 Main Street in Mukwonago with visitation from 4:30-6:00PM. Memorials can be made to the Shomos Family Foundation.