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DOLF DROGE Obituary
DROGE DOLF DROGE On the morning of Saturday May 9, 2015, Dolf Droge passed away peacefully in his sleep, of natural causes, while surrounded by his family at Liberty Shores Assisted Living in Poulsbo, WA. Dolf was 86 years old. Dolf Martin Droge was born in Milan, Indiana in 1928, the second of three sons of John M. and Martha J. Neuhaus Droge who immigrated from Neuenwalde and Flogen in northwestern Germany. In 1946 Dolf graduated from Milan High School and in 1950 from Wittenberg University in Springfield, OH, where he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and the Blue Key Society. Dolf's Carnegie Endowment graduate fellowship with the Councils on World Affairs at Case Western Reserve University was interrupted by service with the US Air Force at Haneda AFB in Japan during the Korean War. He then joined the US Information Service (USIS) and served in the diplomatic corps in Thailand, Laos, Poland, and Vietnam before transferring to Washington, DC to work at the Voice of America, the ACTION agency, and the Agency for International Development. For several years Dolf was on loan to the National Security Council's Vietnam Information Group under Presidents Johnson and Nixon and later to the White House Office Public Liaison during the Reagan administration. Dolf applied history and cross-cultural understanding to foreign policy - with a good dose of humor and original music - on "The Hawk, the Dove, and the Owl" album recorded with Congressman Phil Crane. After retiring from federal service in 1983 Dolf began a second successful career as a public speaker for civic organizations, high schools, and colleges. He was a tireless supporter of military veterans and POW/MIA causes. A prolific songwriter and singer, Dolf entertained and educated innumerable crowds with his many original songs, several of which are in the Vietnam War Collections in the Archive of Folk Culture at the Library of Congress. Dolf's kindness, intelligence, generous spirit, and joyous approach to life warmed many hearts and endeared him to his family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Dolf's first marriage to Frances J. Warner with whom he had two children ended in divorce in 1975. In 1997 he married Eileen Langohr and relocated to Bainbridge Island, WA where he was at various times a member of the Men's Breakfast and the Port Madison Lutheran Church. In 2010 Dolf moved to Liberty Shores Assisted Living in Poulsbo, WA, where he enjoyed welcoming new friends every day. In 2014 his brother Arnie and sister-in-law Janet also moved to Liberty Shores, and Dolf enjoyed frequent visits with them and the extended family. The brothers remained close to the end, Dolf passing away just four days after his brother Arnie. Dolf was preceded in death by his second wife, Eileen Langohr-Droge, his older brother John (Pat) Droge, and his younger brother Arnold Droge. He is survived by his first wife Frances J. Warner of Gardena, CA; sister-in-law Janet Page Droge of Bainbridge Island; son David F. (Sandra) Droge of Akron, OH; daughter Martha J. Droge of Bainbridge Island; step daughter Marlene LeMire of Bainbridge Island; step-son Marshall (Marsha) Langohr of Seattle, WA; nephews Mark Droge of Galveston, TX, Daniel (Doneva) Droge of Poulsbo, and Pete (Elaine) Droge of Vashon Island, WA; nieces Kathy (Don) Droge Barnhill of League City, TX, and Mary (Rob) Noxon Grehan of Novato, CA; grandchildren Jared Morgan, Megan Nicole, Marshall Jr., Harry, Martin David, Caeli Elizabeth, Brendan Patrick, Rory Brian, and Charlotte Victoria. A funeral at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, DC will be scheduled in autumn 2015 (date to be determined). Memorial contributions can be made to St Paul Lutheran Church 7124 North State Road 101, Milan, IN 47031 or American Legion Post #235, 318 East Indian Trail, Milan, IN 47031. The Droge family is grateful to the capable and compassionate staff at Liberty Shores Assisted Living, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Franciscan Palliative Care, and Franciscan Hospice for making Dolf's last years so comfortable and enjoyable. Please sign the online Guest Book for the family at: www.cookfamilyfuneralhome.com
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for DOLF DROGE
Regis Hanna
May 7, 2021
I met Dolf when he accepted my invitation to come speak on the campus of Johns Hopkins University in Balitmore. While I was not a student there, I was trying to get the truth out about the Vietnam War. I learned several songs from Dolf which I sang for years. Dolf was a good man and a great man. He spoke fluent Vienamese and for students with open minds, he had an impact. He certainly did on me. God Bless you and God speed, Dolf!
Hab Baker
August 24, 2020
I am so sorry to learn, at this late date, of Dolf's passing. Dolf was a visiting lecturer at Squadron Officer's School in Montgomery, Alabama when I attended as a newly-minted Air Force Captain. I believe the year was 1974. His subject was speech, and how to verbally communicate. At that time, he had something of an Afro, and at his height, he looked rather like a fuzzy lollipop, so he certainly grabbed our attention. I have treasured some of his statements and repeated them to others over the years. He said that we probably had heard that Chinese was a "tonal" language, with meaning varying according to emphasis. "But so is English!" he asserted. He gave as proof the following sentence: "I never said he stole that money." We were astonished to discover that it had seven different meanings, depending on which word was emphasized! Another thing that stands out was his assertion that the duty of communication was always on the speaker, not the listener. "What? No way!" I thought. What if I explain very clearly, but the doltish listener just doesn't get it? But, finally a few years later, I finally got it, and practiced it thereafter. I like to think that I have been a better communicator, and have helped to spread those talents, thanks to Dolf Droge. I am surely sad that he has passed on. He made the world a better place by building better communication among humans. As we look around the world today, we can see that the wise counsel of Dolf Droge is sorely needed. God bless you all, and may he rest in peace.
Martha Droge
July 9, 2015
Thank you to all who have signed this "virtual" guestbook. I've saved and shared your kind words with the extended Droge family. Your loving messages have brought great comfort to us all.
June 30, 2015
Martha, I met your dad when I worked at Liberty Shores. He was the type of man you certainly didn't forget! I'm very sorry for your loss.
Wendy (Eaton) Gehring
June 26, 2015
Martha- Thank you for the kind words. Dolf always had my deepest respect and was a good friend. Keep me posted.
Tony Cistaro
[email protected]
703-497-9461
Leonard Cohen
June 16, 2015
Martha and David, so sorry for your loss. I knew your dad well. He helped me with my job in Washington. He visited us often in Jacksonville when he spoke nearby. You two went sailing with my previous wife and me once. My wife and I live in Gainesville now. My best regards.
Deb Clark
June 11, 2015
I still remember your dad from my trip to Bainbridge Island.So interesting and dapper! My condolences to you.
June 11, 2015
Dolf and I shared the podium quite a few times. He was a joy to be with. We joked that we should be billed as "The long and short on Vietnam" Dolf being 6'13" (I believe) tall and me at 5'7". Dolf is always pleasantly remembered.
Tony Cistaro
June 10, 2015
Dolf was lightning in a bottle for the young men he helped train for the pacification program at the Vietnam Training Center in the mid-to-late 1960s. He remaineda stellar example and an inspiration for us all.
Bruce Kinsey, CORDS I-VTC
Albert Santoli
June 10, 2015
God bless Dolf's soul.. A great man and patriot. H was an inspiration to me and his positive and cheerful attitude was a blessing to all who knew him.
Tom Stanley
June 10, 2015
A wonderful, kind man. I will miss his filter on the world. Godspeed.
Lydia Fish
June 10, 2015
One of the brightest and funniest people I have ever known.
Debbie Stanley
June 10, 2015
This tremendous man lived his life to the fullest every day, to the very last measure. He shaped a generation, quietly and behind the scenes some days, and all 6'7' of him in your face other days. My world is richer for having had him in it, and poorer for the knowledge that he is gone. Rest in Peace, Dolf ,3
Angela Pleasant-Lyons
June 10, 2015
I knew Dolf when I worked at ACTION. He was a kind and wonderful friend. May he rest in eternal peace.
Martha Droge
June 10, 2015
Thank you for sharing your light and kindness with the world.
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