Wayne Victor Vogen

Wayne Victor Vogen, husband, beloved father of two and grandfather died peacefully on August 9th, 2023 at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, he was 80 years old.

Wayne was born February 2nd, 1943 in San Francisco to Victor and Beulah Vogen. Wayne was the oldest of four children. The Vogen family moved to Richmond where Wayne attended grade school. Then he went to junior high and high school at Harry Ells from 7th grade until 12th grade graduation in June of 1960. Uniquely, for that campus, during their transition, Wayne and his classmates were sentenced to be the lowest underclass for three long years. UGH! Although Wayne played tympani in the orchestra, he wasn't particularly interested in academics, as he was busy dragging the main and developing his sardonic sense of humor. In 8th grade, after serving after-school detention with Kent Young (different infraction), they discovered similar points of view and became good friends until they had to split off from their long walk home.

Wayne initially established his science/technology academic dedication at Contra Costa Junior College. Meanwhile, his family moved to Pleasant Hill, so when he transferred UC Berkeley to study mechanical engineering, he had to find an apartment and a roommate in Berkeley. As circumstances would have it, he and Kent needed a place too, so they became roommates for 3 years, initially at 2151 Channing Way and a cabin in Canyon, CA .

From UCB, Wayne graduated with a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science Degrees in Mechanical Engineering. During his senior year, Wayne met Sandy Johnson by the time he earned his BS, they eloped to Nevada with Kent and Sandy's GF, Wilma, as witnesses. Sandy eventually became the mother of his two children, while Wayne undertook a work-study MS program with UCB and Lockheed Corp. Whilst at UCB, Kent and Wayne joined the Cal Sailing Club at Berkeley Yacht Club, at which Wayne ended up being the lead sailor. Through sailing, Wayne pursued his Viking heritage, and it became one of Wayne's great joys in his life. None will doubt that Wayne had taught many CAL students to sail out of the CSC at the Berkeley Marina.

After completing his work-study program and attain hid MS degree, Wayne and his family bought a 32' wooden ketch, The Bacchus, from San Diego and planned to sail it back up to Berkeley. To do this, Captain Wayne assembled a crew of 3 other couples, including Kent and his wife, Sue, (Incidentally, Wayne & Sandy were witnesses to Kent & Sue's civil wedding in Richmond) to sail up the California coast to berth in Berkeley. Unfortunately, the sailing adventure of a lifetime was cut short by a fierce westerly headwind that marooned them in Morro Bay, consequently they rented cars to drive back home, since vacation times were soon ending. Subsequently, a determined Captain Wayne reassembled an experienced sailor-crew, to retrieve The Bacchus from Morrow Bay. Unfortunately, by the time Wayne sailed The Bacchus to Monterey Bay, they experienced severe weather and became dismasted, requiring a tow to Berkeley.

For awhile, the Vogen family lived aboard at the Berkeley Marina and they made vacation plans to sail The Bacchus to Mexico. However, Wayne again experienced a calamity from a complete mechanical meltdown and a lack of wind combined to cut the trip short and postpone it indefinitely. The Vogen family adventures, at the Berkeley Marina and subsequently at a purchase of a hill house on Evergreen Road in Oakland's Montclair District, were a little less adventurous after that. Yet, Wayne's love of adventure, his thirst for knowledge, history, people and reading a really good book made him an interesting person, with a insatiably curious mind and a wickedly clever sense of humor.

Waynes career as a Mechanical Engineer brought him to work for the following: the aforementioned Lockheed, Hewlett Packard, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, UC Berkeley, and URS Blum. Eventually Wayne's engineering career led him be specializing in Vibration and Acoustic Noise, which took him all over the world and into many different industries. Wayne had a long job at a semiconductor plant in Taiwan and short jobs at a Waffle Fry plant in Idaho and even Levis Jeans in New Mexico. Wayne was the "go-to" guy for many in Silicon Valley high-tech manufacturers with semiconductor chip production issues and chip defects.

Wayne loved his work and took great pride in establishing his Vibration Engineering Consultants, the company he founded and ran for thirty years, as president and head engineer. Wayne's career offered him the opportunities to ski in the Austrian Alps, ride bikes in the south of France, scuba dive in Costa Rica and drive like a local on the German Autobahn. Wayne's energy and enthusiasm for his work and the endless possibilities of high tech held Wayne's interest his entire life.

Wayne was predeceased by his son, Christopher Ole Vogen, his brothers Larry Vogen and James Vogen. Wayne is survived by his current wife Anne Beggs, daughter Karina Vogen, granddaughter Anna Shelton Vogen, former wife Sandra Vogen and sister Jacquelyn Vogen. Celebration of life under way-questions please email anniebeggs@gmail.com