John A. Vogel

John passed away peacefully at the age of 85. He was born to Anthony and Elizabeth Vogel and raised in Glencoe, Illinois where he attended Sacred Heart and then New Trier High School. He started his 40 year career as a teenager with Chicago Northwestern Railroad first as a conductor and then worked his way up to police officer and special agent. On occasion he brought home the undercover squad car and would sound the siren much to the delight of his girls. Like a train schedule, John was always on time and his arrivals/departures were always given to the minute. Before leaving for the train each morning, he played a couple hands of solitaire. It was always a special time with each of his girls when they would wake early enough to help him move his aces.

John could never talk enough about his three girls and cherished the "Girl Dad" title. When his grandkids came along, he couldn't have been a more proud Papa. He was close with his siblings and looked forward to their time together and yearly siblings' trips. John was a loyal friend to many and enjoyed keeping contact with those who meant the most.

John loved fishing. He lived for his yearly vacation in northern Minnesota with his girls, then sons in law, and then grandchildren. He could be found trolling for walleye, morning, noon and night, and passed on his love of fishing to his family. He loved the Cubs and watching all Chicago sports. Like his dad, John loved a good round of golf and missed playing in his later years. He was passionate about his grass. Nobody's grass was ever cut soon enough or straight enough. He loved sitting in the sun, reading, and listening to some good ol' country western music. John was a good storyteller and loved sharing his stories and shenanigans of his teenage years and of being his mother's "number one son".

Although he was a proud German and could be stubborn, he was quick to shed a tear especially during the National Anthem or when seeing fallen Law Enforcement Officers. He cherished the special moment of receiving a special blessing from the Pope while on duty during the Pope's visit to Chicago years ago.

John is survived by his three daughters, Julie (Rob) Lepley, Jill (Jason) Nevil, and Jennifer (Paul) Roelke; his 4 grandchildren, Kaylee, Kennedy, and Keaton Nevil, and Tom Lepley; his siblings, Betsy (Bruno Dambraukas) Sugarman and James (Nancy) Vogel; many nieces and nephews; and bonus family, Mitchell, Chandler and Rylen Roelke, and Makenzie and Collin Kirk. He remained close to his ex-wife Carolyn Vogel Santostefano and was also blessed with many bonus family members throughout his life. He is preceded in death by his parents, his brothers, Bill and Bob, and his sister, Joan.

A Visitation will be held Friday, March 13 from 4 to 8 pm and Saturday, March 14 from 10 am until time of the service at 11 am at N.H. Scott & Hanekamp Funeral Home, 1240 Waukegan Road, Glenview.

The family wishes to thank Victory Lakes and JourneyCare Hospice for their compassionate and loving care of John.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to SIDS (sidsillinois.org)