Vince Vogel

Avid Outdoorsman’s Next Quest for Beauty: Celebrating the Life of Vince Vogel June 26,1950-Oct 9, 2017 Vince Vogel arrived in Colorado from Pennsylvania in 1969 bound for CSU with fishing poles, hiking boots, and skis. When his dad visited his dorm, he inquired whether he was going to school or taking a vacation! Vince said he saw the Colorado mountains, took a breath of that cool dry air, and knew he was home. Vince spent a lot of time in the mountains where he built many homes. He was a framer and contractor for more than four decades. He made the most of each waking day, whether it be to build a home or plan a trip. When he was 16 he ran a hunting and fishing camp in Ontario, Canada for a family friend. This experience spiked his adventurous spirit and led to a lifetime of canoeing, rafting, hiking, biking, and skiing. Vince’s compassion for others and astute understanding of human nature made him an excellent source of advice. He loved plants and animals found in nature and had a great desire to protect the environment. Some of his best stories were about his many encounters with bears! He had a great sense of humor and his laughter was infectious. Many people have commented that he was the most optimistic person they had ever met. He always said, “There are no problems, only solutions.” Nothing made Vince happier than being surrounded by family or friends, whether it was around the dining room table, skiing down the trails of Copper Mountain or cross country skiing up to a 10th Mountain Division Hut. He was a lifelong student of history with a voracious appetite for knowledge. He loved old movies including Grapes of Wrath, Shane and Casablanca. He was a fan of classical music and rock & roll and his kids have fond memories of waking up to their dad blasting Mexican ballads every Sunday morning. He helped his wife Pam in the garden and built raised beds, grape arbors, and even converted a hot tub room into a green house. He liked to plan the trips that he took with Pam to Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Greece, Costa Rico, the Virgin Islands, Mexico, and to all parts of the US. Their last trip was to France in February 2017 with a detour to Milan, Italy for Pam’s birthday where they reunited with some friends he had met hiking the coast-to-coast trek (TGO) across Scotland. He was incredibly moved to learn that his Italian friends had arranged for his Scottish friends to fly in for a reunion dinner all in honor of Pam and Vince’s arrival. Some of Vince’s most memorable stories came from the three times he guided his Italian friends on adventures. He loved showing them sites like the Grand Canyon, pueblos in Taos and several national parks in the West. A lifetime of adventures cannot be captured in just a few paragraphs, but here are some notable ones. He completed the Colorado Trail twice and served as a volunteer, hosting other hikers and giving advice on how to best organize their trips and packs. He walked the entire Appalachian Trail and part of the Long Trail in Vermont. He hiked through New Zealand and the bush of Australia, including a rafting trip in Tasmania. He walked the circumference of the Big Island of Hawaii and camped by waterfalls in Kauai. He walked the trails of the north and south rim of the Grand Canyon and the Wonderland trail of Mount Rainier. He canoed the Everglades in Florida, the Buffalo River in Arkansas, the Current River in Missouri, and the Green River in Utah. He biked the C&O Canal, the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Katy Trail in Missouri, and the Natchez Trace in Mississippi. He was on the support team for the Race Across America (RAAM) where his son Matt was on a bike relay team made up of people with type 1 diabetes. They came in first place and set a new record. Although he traveled the world, he said his destination was not as important as his quest for beauty, which he captured in his photography or shared in one of his amazing stories. Vince is survived by his mother Birnetta Vogel of Monroeville, Pa., his wife Pam Vogel, his sister Bonni Sanford of Monroeville, Pa., his brother Paul Vogel of Murrysville, Pa., his son Matt Vogel and daughter in law Stephanie Tsang Vogel of Encinitas, Ca., his daughter Erica Vogel and son in law Omar Pacheco of Irvine, Ca., his son Geoff Vogel and daughter in law Courtney Vogel of Littleton, Co., and his son in law Corbyn Roberts and step daughters Molly Hafey and Joanna Roberts of Oklahoma City. Vince has 5 grandchildren, Zoe Pacheco, Greyson Vogel, Ella Roberts, Fletcher Roberts, and Henley Roberts and numerous nieces and nephews. Vince is preceded in death by his father Thomas C. Vogel. Vince died after a six month struggle with metastatic pancreatic cancer. Even while this was occurring he remained an inspiration and a hero to his family and all who knew him. We will miss him, but as he said, he is on to the next adventure. We are planning to hold a celebration of Vince’s life in mid-January 2018 with more details to follow. If you would like more information about this celebration, please send an email to: vincevogelcelebration@gmail.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Vince’s memory to one of the following organizations: Lutheran Medical Center Foundation 8300 W. 38th Ave. Wheatridge, CO 80033 supportlutheran.org 303-467-4800 Colorado Trail Foundation Coloradogives.org 303-384-3729 Lustgarten Foundation—Cure Pancreatic Cancer www.lustgarten.org/donate