Visitation:
Thursday, September 26, 2024 from 5:00 until 7:00
p.m. at Holland Barry And Bennett Funeral Home
Service:
10:00 a.m. Friday, September 27, 2024 at Lincoln
Christian Church
Funeral home: Holland Barry & Bennett Funeral
Home
Obituary
Benjamin E. (Ben) Vogel, 84, went
to be with the Lord on September 23, 2024 at St.
Clara’s Msnor.
He joins his son, Kenneth E. Vogel, and his spouse,
Virginia Carol Vogel, in heaven as well as very
close friends, Harlan and Zelma Kennedy, who lived
next door to the Vogel's for many years.
Ben was born on March 22, 1940, at Watseka,
Illinois, the son of Elmer and Mary Hodel Vogel.
He graduated from Cissna Park Schools. He attended
the University of Illinois and Lincoln Christian
Seminary. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts
Degree from Lincoln Christian University on May 29,
1964. He graduated from Saint Louis University
School of Social Service with a Master in Social
Work Degree on June 5, 1971.
Ben was baptized on May, 1959, at the Catlin, Church
of Christ. Catlin, Illinois. On June 4, 1961, he
married Virginia Carol Arnett of Danville, Illinois,
at the Catlin Church of Christ. They celebrated 51
years of marriage together. Carol went to be with
the Lord on September 25, 2012.
They had two children, Kenneth and Kristine. Kenneth
went to be with the Lord January 4, 1992. Kristine
survives with her husband, Nathan Dolbeare, They
reside in Golden, Colorado.
Also surviving are his sister, Carol Ann Vogel,
Oakwood, IL and his brother, Donald Vogel, and his
niece, Deborah Vogel.
After completing his education, Ben worked as a
Licensed Social Worker at Lincoln Developmental
Center, Lincoln, for 37 years. During that time, he
helped implement many changes in the way persons
with developmental disabilities were trained and
their living accommodations were improved. He worked
in the area of Admissions to the Center as well as
placement of individuals in community based small
group homes. He retired August 31, 2002. |
Ben was a member of Lincoln Christian
Church for over 60 years. Ben was a Sunday
Schoolteacher in the early years teaching a class of
third grade boys. Later he became a driver of the
Church bus. He also was a Deacon and an Elder. He
was the church's sound technician for seventeen
years. He began recording sermons in 1972. This
activity grew into what is now known as the Lincoln
Area Tape Ministry which lasted over 40 years. Ben
and Carol traveled thousands of miles recording
various events and making recordings immediately
available for sale to the participants of that
event. Most of these events were religious
conferences or church meetings but some were in the
area of Foster Care training and Preventing Child
Abuse. Some events were on the campus of Lincoln
Christian University.
Ben was the Lincoln Regional
Director for the National Church Growth Research
Center, Washington, D.C. He was the audio editor and
publisher of the Center's Audio Cassettes and, more
recently, Compact Disks. Over the years, he produced
thousands of audio recordings which were distributed
by the Church Growth Center.
Ben was a volunteer at the Lincoln Pregnancy
Resource Center. Since Carol was no longer living,
Ben felt that her legacy as a volunteer at the
Center should not die. As a volunteer, he carried on
her fund raising activity raising as much as ten
thousand dollars per year. He was a
member of the Fundraising And Community Extension (F.A.C.E.)
Committee. Ben participated in the Lincoln Center's
annual fundraising banquet.
Visitation will be Thursday, September 26, 2024 from
5:00 until 7:00 PM at Holland Barry And Bennett
Funeral Home. Funeral Services will he held at
Lincoln Christian Church at 10:00 AM Friday,
September 27, 2024.
Burial will be in New Union Cemetery, Lincoln,
Illinois.
Friends are encouraged to make memorial donations to
the Lincoln Pregnancy Resource Center, 308 North
Union Street, Lincoln, Illinois.
Click here to send a note of condolence to the
family of Benjamin E. (Ben) Vogel |