David A. Vogan

1931 - 2019

Rev. David A. Vogan August 17, 1931September 26, 2019 Reverend David A. Vogan was born on August 17, 1931 in the Presbyterian manse in Greensboro, Vermont. He was the son of the late Reverend Ferdimore E. Vogan and Margaret Fraser Vogan. He was predeceased by his older sister Ruth Vogan Carr of Hardwick, Vermont and by his wife of more than sixty years Janet Peden Vogan. He is survived by two sons: David A. Vogan, Jr. (Lois Corman) of Arlington, Massachusetts and William E. Vogan (Janellen Farmer) of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania; five grandchildren: Jonathan Vogan (Aparna Kumar), Sarah Vogan (Eric Thompson), Ian Vogan (Lairen Vogan), Allison Corman-Vogan, and Ryan Vogan; and three great-grandchildren: Theodore Vogan, William Vogan, and Nora Vogan. The Vogan family moved in 1936 to Drexel Hill near Philadelphia, and later to Mercer, Pennsylvania; by they kept a cottage in Greensboro to which David loved to return each summer until the late 1990s. He graduated from Mercer High School in 1948, then studied journalism at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1952. On July 12, 1952 he married Janet Clarissa Peden of Grove City, Pennsylvania. He worked in advertising for the New Castle News until November of 1952. From that time until the fall of 1954 he served in the United States Army, working with Army Intelligence in Frankfurt, Germany. He was honorably discharged as a Corporal. He was very proud of that service, and deeply respectful of all those serving. He always flew a flag in their honor; and he displayed in his living room a flag flown over an American airfield in Afghanistan, given to him by the husband of one of Janet's caregivers. After his discharge, he worked in advertising for the Niles, Ohio Daily Times. In 1957 he became Director of Christian Education at First Presbyterian Church of New Castle, and in 1959 he entered Pittsburgh Theological Seminary to study (alongside Fred Rogers, as he was very proud to recall) for the ministry. He received the Bachelor of Divinity degree summa cum laude in 1962, earning a scholarship which he used for a year of study at the School of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, earning a Master of Divinity degree. In 1963 he became the minister of First Presbyterian Church in Bellefonte, where he retained a connection to that church for the rest of his life. In 1976 he was elected Executive Presbyter of Northumberland and Huntington Presbyteries, a position that he held until his retirement in 2000. In 2007 he and Janet moved to The Oaks in Pleasant Gap; then in 2017 he moved to the Atrium at the Village at Penn State in State College. David was an avid participant in and fan of many sports, notably basketball and baseball; he was a Pirates fan at least from the time he moved to Mercer more than seventy years ago. He lamented the evolution of men's basketball away from the game that he knew as a boy, and became a fan of women's basketball (particularly of Penn State) because they played correctly. His sons sadly did not inherit his athletic abilities, and were regularly defeated by him until he was confined to a wheelchair. At cribbage the sons could offer him a bit more of a challenge, but they still regularly experienced the ignominy of being "skunked." At the Atrium he continued to follow the Pirates closely (although with disappointment). But he found that the stories of his best-loved authors, like Nevil Shute and Dick Francis and C.S. Lewis, improved with age and re-reading. Private interment will be at Hublersburg Cemetery. A Service of Witness to the Resurrection will take place on Saturday, October 26, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, at 201 N. Spring Street, Bellefonte, with Reverend David L. Phillips officiating. Arrangements are under the direction of Wetzler Funeral Service, Inc. in Bellefonte. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial gifts be made to First Presbyterian Church in Bellefonte at 201 N. Spring Street, Bellefonte, PA 16823. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.wetzlerfuneralhome.com.