Elaine Vogt

1939 - 2025

Elaine Rosenthal Vogt died peacefully of pneumonia, surrounded by her three children, on October 23, 2025.

Elaine was born in Rochester, NY, a city known for its support of classical music, Elaine's first love. Her family has a recording of her performing, at age 16, demanding piano compositions such as Chopin's Fantasy Impromptu and Beethoven's Sonata Opus 2, No. 1.

Music remained central in Elaine's life. As a child, she studied piano with her Aunt Sarah Segelin (of Eastman Music). In college, she relished practicing Brahms duets with Chuck Fischer, a clarinetist friend. Her later performances include accompanying a lute recital in Seville, Spain and performing with classical marimba in Schenectady, NY. For years, she taught piano lessons privately, as well as working as an accompanist and piano instructor at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, IL. In her role teaching music to youth in the Pratt Music Foundation Preparatory Music Program, she once accompanied students to the White House, when students from across the nation were invited by Michelle Obama to enjoy a day honoring classical music. Elaine also established a musical scholarship in the name of her mother, Frances Wolff Rosenthal, another music lover.

After over a decade of full-time employment in various administrative roles for the New York State Civil Service Department, Elaine pursued studies in Educational and Cognitive Psychology. She earned an M.A. degree in Educational Psychology and Statistics from SUNY-Albany, where she was an adjunct lecturer; and she co-authored "'The Mozart Effect': Does listening to his music improve spatial ability?" published in the academic journal, Perceptual and Motor Skills (Vol. 81, 1995).

Elaine married twice. She lived with Earl Dworkin first in Tacoma, WA and then, after a series of moves, settled in Schenectady, NY; together they had three children. With her second husband, Paul Vogt, she lived in Schenectady and then in Bloomington, IL until Paul's death in 2016. (He is survived by daughter Erika Vogt and grandsons Cody and Zachary.) Paul was a scholar and author, a professor at SUNY-Albany and then at Illinois State University, and Elaine was an astute and enthusiastic editor of his writing. Their life together included socializing, attending concerts, reading and writing together, and many travels abroad, most notably spending a year together living in London.

Travel was a consistent feature of Elaine's adult life. Even before her travels with Paul, and perhaps a sign of her being a "hippie" (to quote one of her long-time acquaintances), Elaine daringly whisked her three children away to live in Seville, Spain for a year in 1973-74. Her children are ever grateful for the formative experience!

In 2022, as Alzheimer's disease began to take hold, Elaine left her community of friends in Bloomington - where she had previously been active in a Gourmet Club, a book club, and at Moses Montefiore Temple - and she moved to the west coast where she would be closer to some family members. A highlight of that last period of her life was her friendship with Mel Stone.

In addition to her second husband, Elaine is predeceased by her parents, Frances and Samuel Rosenthal of Rochester, NY and Deerfield Beach, FL. She is survived by her daughter, Joy Dworkin of Tacoma, WA (son Jeremy Lynn), her daughter, Leslie Dworkin (husband Kent De Spain, son Reynard De Spain) of Dayton, OH, and her son, John Dworkin, of Tacoma, WA. She is also survived by her brother, Edward Rosenthal, of Corvallis, OR (wife Pamela Rosenthal; sons, Noah and Jesse, are predeceased;) and her sister, Lisa Rosenthal (husband Leonard Orzol, daughters Alana, Emmalyn and Miriam/Gwen, husband Joshua LaPiro) of Corvallis, OR.

While deeply identified with her Jewishness, Elaine was ever the devout atheist; a quiet gathering is planned for her celebration of life. In lieu of flowers or another memorial gift, it would be a fitting way of honoring her memory to make a donation to your favorite classical musical organization or purchase season tickets for yourself with Elaine in mind. Memories of Elaine to be shared at the Celebration of Life gathering can be emailed by November 15 to lesliedworkin@gmail.com.