Harold Andrew Vogel, died in peace on May 11, 2010 at age 88, in the presence of his family. Hal was born on October 23, 1921 at Woodford, Wisconsin, the son of Adolph Ernest and Nina Lois Olson Vogel. He was preceded in death by his parents, and his dear wife of 55 years, Annette Bernadette Mayer Vogel.
As a young boy, Hal developed a lifelong interest in collecting butterflies, rocks, and stamps. He graduated from Monroe High School, Monroe, Wisconsin in 1939 and attended Blackburn College, Carlinville, Illinois in 1940 & 1941.
When World War II erupted, Hal joined the Aviation Cadets of the Army Air Corp and went through their arduous training programs where he earned his 2nd Lieutenant Wings and became a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot. He and his crew flew to England where he completed 35 bombing missions over Germany and Northern Europe. He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and other medals but especially valued his “Lucky Bastard Certificate”, given by his squadron commander for successfully completing his required 35 missions. Hal maintained a diary of his war experiences, “Briefing at Three” which can be viewed on the Distinguished Flying Cross Society- Northwest Chapter’s site, http://www.dfcsociety-nw.org/pages/storiesbymembers.htm After obtaining the rank of 1st Lieutenant, and completion of his tour of duty, he was returned to Santa Ana, California for reassignment.
In Santa Ana he met, and 30 days later, married the beautiful Annette Bernadette Mayer from Detroit, Michigan. Hal and Ann were transferred from Santa Anna to Sebring, Florida, and then to Moultrie, Georgia. When news reached Hal of the end of the European war, he immediately requested and was granted a discharge from the service. Ann and Hal then went to Detroit to visit Ann’s folks, and while there, Hal was offered and accepted a job with the No-Sag Spring Company, manufacturers of sinuous and coil furniture springs. Hal worked for No-Sag for 26 years in many capacities, including Research and Development, Regional Manager of Manufacturing, and as Canadian General Manager for 10 years.
In 1962, He was transferred and moved his family to Seattle, Washington and became Regional Plant Manager of their Seattle and Portland manufacturing plants. Eight years later, he was again transferred back to Detroit. In 1975, longing for the beautiful northwest, he resigned from No-Sag and they returned to their home in Bellevue. Hal then went to work for CAM Industries in Kent until his retirement in 1987.
After retirement, Hal had the opportunity to pursue in earnest his many hobbies which included fishing, hunting, rock hounding, woodworking, bird and character carving, jewelry silversmithing, genealogy, and rabid stamp collecting. He especially enjoyed many years of camaraderie with his wood carver group at the Renton Senior Center. Hal, a true gentleman in every sense, was greatly respected and admired for his benevolent nature and his many talents and skills by all who knew him.
Hal is survived by his sisters, Dorothy Mae McGregor of Freeport, Illinois and Lucille Rose Brown of Independence, Missouri, and his children, Patricia A. (William) Simmons of Bellevue and Robert H. (Elke) Vogel of Midland Michigan. Grandchildren include; Michael Wright, Colette (Mark) Hicks, Michelle (Arnold) Ewert, and Michael Simmons, and seven great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation to Group Health Foundation at http://www.ghc.org/foundation