Richard Voigt

1932 - 2016

Richard C. Voigt, 83, of Hershey, formerly of Bethlehem, Easton and Cornwall, passed away peacefully on February 19, 2016 at his residence. Born March 4, 1932 in Queens, NY, he was son of the late Edward and Viola (Marr) Voigt. Richard attended North Central College then Evangelical Theological Seminary in Naperville, IL where he graduated as an Ordained Minister in 1956. He served as Pastor in eastern Pennsylvania churches until 1971 while he was attending Lehigh University and obtaining his M.A. in Philosophy. In 1968 he was invited to teach "Intro to Philosophy" at Northampton Community College (N.C.C.) in Bethlehem. He retired in 1996 as a full professor and received the title of Professor Emeritus. As the first philosophy professor at N.C.C., Richard established the department and developed the courses offered (Intro to Philosophy, Ethics, World Religion, and On Death and Dying). He also served on and chaired numerous committees including: Academic Standards; Curriculum (which he chaired for about a decade-which established the curriculum for a brand new college); chair of the College Council and the task force on Administration and Governance for Middle State accreditations; and numerous more. He and a co-worker planned and conducted a one day conference at N.C.C. titled "Aging-the Process of Living". The county, Council on Aging and other community leaders took part and invitee Maggie Kuhns, head of the Gray Panthers, was the keynote speaker. He was also a member of the Association on Death Education and Counseling. One semester was spent on sabbatical leave at Georgetown University and the Kennedy Institute of Ethics in Washington D.C. where Richard concentrated on ethical issues relating to death and dying. There he attended seminars on bereavement and grief and later did a four week study on "Ethics and the Social Sciences" under a grant from the National Endowment-Humanities held at SUNY Binghamton. While living in the Lehigh Valley he spent one summer as Resident Ethicist at St. Luke's Hospital, Bethlehem in the cancer ward; was a member of the executive committee of Visiting Nurses of Easton as an ethics specialist; an instructor to volunteers of Hospice of Lehigh Valley; and gave numerous lectures and seminars at various locations dealing with grief, dying, death and bereavement. Richard was not a chaplain at N.C.C., but had many opportunities to perform counseling and pastoral functions, mostly growing out of the course "On Death and Dying". That course was (and still is) a requirement for students in the Funeral Service Department, but also drew many nursing students, students enrolled in other programs, and quite a cross section of people from the community. Though Richard spent his life as an educator and a man of God, he also had a passion for model railroading in his spare time. Survivors: His wife of 33 years, Linda; son, Douglas (Mary) Voigt; daughters, Janice (Joseph) Banko, and Jennifer (Christopher) Murgia; grandchildren, Alexander Voigt, Christian Murgia and Megan Murgia; and brother, Edward Voigt. Services: A memorial service will be held Wednesday, March 23, 2016, 2:00 p.m. at Northampton Community College at the Lipkin Theater in Kopecek Hall, 3835 Green Pond Road, Bethlehem, PA 18020. Visitation will begin at 1 p.m. Transportation will be provided from the Hershey/Cornwall areas to the service. Please contact Linda Voigt at linvoigt@comcast.net or Donald Richards at 717-769-2477 to reserve a seat. Contributions: In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Homeland Hospice, 2300 Vartan Way #205, Harrisburg, PA 17110 or ALS Association of Greater Philadelphia, 321 Norristown Road, Lower Gwynedd Township, PA 19002. Arrangements by Cremation Society of Pennsylvania, Inc.