VISITATION: The Lakeview Funeral Home Celebration of Life Service is by invitation only, limited by COVID protocol. The service will be followed by a reception at Global Brew in O'Fallon, Illinois that is open for all friends and family to attend.
Troy Daniel Manz, 46, of Evansville, IN, passed away February 28,, 2021. Troy was born August 23, 1974 in Topeka, KS to Roger & Cynthia (Snider) Manz. They both survive him and reside in Alma, Ks.
Also surviving is his Fiancee, Trish Wilkinson of Evansville, IN: children, Brendan (Schaye Danford) Fosse of Hawaii and Amber (Nicholas) Keller Abney of Washington; grandchildren, Finnegan Fosse and Nixon Abney; sister, Nicole Hawkins of Goddard, KS; nephews & niece, Christian, Preston & Kinsley; and his maternal grandmother, Dorothy Snider of Abilene, KS.
He was preceded in death by his nephew, Andrew.
Troy was asked to write “This is My Script”, a brief snapshot of his life for his air national guard unit. This is what he wrote two weeks prior to his death:
Every once in a while you see this strange Captain walking through the halls with a coffee mug in hand, that would be me, Capt Troy Manz, MD. I'm a testament to setting goals beyond your perceived grasp; you might just surprise yourself. I grew up on a farm in Kansas and had the typical small town existence. Decided to be an exchange student to Denmark in High school to avoid my yearly football injuries. Got a scholarship for meat judging to Cloud County Community College, didn't go. I decided instead to join the Marine Corps and took a couple years but I spent my 21st B-Day laying in my rack at the position of attention wanting fireworks from nearby Sea World. Spend next 4 years with 4FSSG in Kansas City as a disbursing clerk (accountant). They did away from non-combat MOS's in the Corps, so I got forcibly retrained to Ammunition Technician (explosives are awesome), and in 2003 I thought my military career was over at E4. Wife (ex) decided she wanted to be a nurse, we were broke so I told her to join the Air National Guard in Topeka, KS. She drug me back in with her. I wanted to be close, but not in her chain of command so I asked about some Cardiopulmonary Lab Tech job. Recruiter was sure my Marine ASVAP wouldn't qualify me; he got a surprise. After 2 years of being a golden flow administrator I finally got a school seat and trained at Sheppard AFB and then spent 14 months at Wilford Hall (Big Willy) in San Antonio. Upon graduation in 2007 I immediately deployed to Iraq as a CCATT (Critical Care Air Transport Team) Respiratory Therapist. Transferred to 932d in 2009 for Msgt slot and as a grand plan to head to med school I deployed again to Afghanistan before heading back for another degree and all the undergrad courses applying to medical school requires. STEP promoted to SMSgt in 2015 and became superintendent of readiness. Applied to 15 med schools, got 1 interview, and as luck would have it, I got ACEPTED! Started at University of Kansas School of Medicine in 2016 and the 126th graciously accepted to commission me under the Early Commissioning program. All the recent commanders have been very good to work with as med school and not residency is very time consuming and it's hard to get to UTA's. I graduated in 2016 and 180 residency applications later I was accepted as a categorical (3 year contract) Internal Medicine Resident with Southwest Indiana University in Evansville. I recently passed the last board exam (STEP 3) exam and will have my general medical license in July and start being an asset to the PHA process. My future plan is to hopefully switch to an Emergency Medicine residency, complete the flight surgeon courses, get the 126th CATT UTS's trained and deploying, deploy myself a couple more times, then retire as an 0-6 (but probably 0-5). I do have 2 grown children each with a kid that are both married to military members; one at Fairchild in Spokane, Washington and the other at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. My fiancee, Lt Col Wilkinson, is IMA to Chief of education and training for AFRC. We travel extensively; Machu Pichu, Great Wall of China, Kilimanjaro, Angkor Wat, and many more. Most recently we've started doing Adventure Races and plan to compete internationally. I have 20+ years of experience being enlisted and now on my 5th year of being commissioned. I'm happy to advise anyone that wants it. Don't become stagnant, set lofty goals and break them down into smaller steps, then get started. Enjoy the journey! -Captain Doctor Troy Manz
https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/fairview-heights-il/troy-manz-10084028