Obit
Published in Orange County Register on Jun. 28, 2015.
Vogel, Hans William
Less than 15 years after the first ships traveled from Europe to the U.S. by way of the Panama Canal, Hans W. Vogel made his voyage from his birthplace in Cologne, Germany to the sands of Long Beach, California. Once there, Vogel quickly traded the idyllic Rhine River of his early childhood for the ocean sports of the Pacific. A graduate of Long Beach Polytechnic High School, Vogel had a particular passion for beach volleyball. This passion would eventually lead him to USC where he organized, recruited and coached the university's first men's volleyball team in 1948. Under Vogel's leadership that team would go on to win two National Men's Collegiate Volleyball Championships.
Leadership was an early hallmark of Hans Vogel who received numerous military honors and decorations, including two Bronze Star Medals for "Actions Above and Beyond the Call of Duty," when he helped to negotiate the surrender of 82 German troops during combat at the Siegfried Line on the border between France and Germany in February, 1945. Eventually, he would be a leader in the Orange County construction industry, an administrator with the Tustin Union High School District, and ultimately one of the founding members of the Board of Trustees for Saddleback Community College. Vogel was appointed the Board's first president and served in that capacity during four of the eight years of his tenure with the college.
But for Vogel his proudest leadership roles were not to be found in his illustrious and varied military, academic or business careers, but rather in a place much closer to home and his heart. It was in the company of his family, sharing his roles as parent, grandparent and great-grandparent with his wife of 72 years, Barbara Vogel, where he measured his good fortune and happiness.
On Friday, June 19, 2015, Vogel died at the age of 93 surrounded by his wife and several members of his extensive family.
Vogel was born on March 14, 1922, in Cologne, Germany as the only child of Elsie F. and J. Jean Vogel.
While studying for his final examinations at UC Berkeley, Vogel learned of the attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor, and the day that would "live in infamy" - December 7, 1941 - would postpone the completion of his B.A. for another six years. Returning to Long Beach in January, 1942 to await his deployment, Vogel soon met Barbara Bogart. Years earlier, the two had been classmates at Franklin Junior High School in Long Beach. On September 2, 1942, they were married, and one month later Vogel entered the Army Service.
In 1943, he was assigned to the Army Specialized Training Program in New York City where he completed intensive studies of the German language and culture; he was subsequently trained in interrogation and counter-intelligence at the Military Intelligence Training Center in Maryland. Between 1943 and 1945, Vogel participated in all five European Theater of Operations campaigns. He was honorably separated from active duty in November, 1945, but continued to serve in both the U.S. Army Reserve and the California State Military Reserve, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Judge Advocate General Corps until he retired in 1987.
Vogel received his B.A. from USC in 1947 and taught German at both USC and the California Institute of Technology. In 1971, he received an M.A. in European History from Chapman College in Orange. He would consummate his academic achievements in 1976 with a J.D. degree from Western State University College of Law in Fullerton.
He is survived by his wife, Barbara; three children; 17 grandchildren; and 25 great-grandchildren.
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