WILLIAM VOGLER

William F. Vogler

William Frederick Vogler, age 81, died at home in Newark, DE on November 2, 2007 surrounded by his loving family.

Bill was born in Jersey City, NJ on April 23, 1926. He and his brother Jerry were raised in Queens, NY where he remained until he joined-up to serve his country in the U.S. Navy during WWII. A lover of the sea, he became a Merchant Marine after the war to help pay his way through Columbia University in New York City and ultimately a stint for Journalism at the University of Missouri. He considered himself a worker among workers who wanted "…no servants under him and no boss over his head" (Brecht). He spent 33 years as a newspaper reporter; first with the UPI in New Jersey and then the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle in Rochester, NY covering Civil Rights and Labor. It was there that Malcolm X told him and other reporters that he expected someone would try to kill him - - and he was slain days later. From 1965 until his retirement in 1989, Bill was with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch where he primarily covered the city and county courts and police beats both in St. Louis and in Belleville, IL. After retiring he moved to Binghamton, NY to be closer to family and worked as head staff reporter for the Valley News for a short time. Not one to sit still, he was an avid woodworker who built many pieces of furniture and clocks for his family. In his day, he could tear up the dance floor doing the jitterbug. He had an amazing wealth of knowledge of politics and world history and there wasn't much he liked better than a good thick book (except maybe walking his beloved dog, Tommy or having dinner with his girls.)

He is survived by his 3 daughters: Elaina Beppler of Cedar Hill, TN, Heather Vogler-Dalaviras (John Dalaviras) of Ashland City, TN, and Holly Vogler (Frank O'Donnell) of Bear, DE; and 3 grandchildren: Dylan Beppler, Jake O'Donnell and Callie Dalaviras, and his former wife and good friend, Karla Hill.

A private memorial service was held for the family. If you'd like to do something in Bill's memory, don't smoke, read a book and be there for each other.