Harold Andrew Vogel

Harold Andrew Vogel, died in peace on May 11, 2010 in the
presence of his family at age 88. 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 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
earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and other metals. Hal
maintained a diary of his war experiences which can be viewed on
the Distinguished Flying Cross Society- Northwest Chapter's site,
http://www.dfcsociety-nw.org/Member%20Stories/Member%20Stories/briefing%...
After obtaining the rank of 1
st 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 BernadetteMayer, 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 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, they returned to their home in
Bellevue, and Hal went to work for CAM Industries in Kent. He
stayed with CAM 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