Raymond Urban Vogelgesang

Raymond Urban Vogelgesang, of Harrison, Ohio, passed away, Saturday, October 30, 2010 at the age of 78. The son of Albert and Helen (Gutzwiller) Vogelgesang was born January 13, 1932 at their home in Guilford, Indiana. He graduated from Guilford High School in 1950 and was a U.S. Marine Veteran of the Korean War 1952-1953. Ray was a beloved husband, father and grandfather. He was a man of few words who led by action and could make it happen. He possessed an incredible mechanical aptitude and a mind for solving problems. While it is impossible to list all the projects that he did on his own or that were done as a family under his guidance, Ray was capable of projects large and small. Ray was an integral part of the building of two of his sons' homes, a garage, a barn and he repaired automobiles, lawn mowers, weed whackers and tractors for the entire family. He was generous with his time and ability and willing to help out when asked by his family. Ray was a tool maker at the former Lehr Precision Tool in Blue Ash, for most of his career. For a time in the 1970s, Ray owned his own machine shop, Western Tool, in Miamitown, Ohio. After his retirement in the 1990s, Ray created his own machine shop in the basement of the home where he worked, dissected and repaired with his tools. Even at age 78, he enjoyed working on farm machinery: cutting, raking, bailing and maintaining a working farm with his son. Of all the farm equipment, Ray loved driving the 1939 F20 Farmall most of all. Ray took great pleasure in the outdoors and spent much time with his family outside. He had a vast knowledge of nature and especially enjoyed identifying trees and eating hickory nuts. He liked the cutting and splitting of firewood and even heated his home with wood. He was an avid sports fan and took much pride in watching and supporting his children and grandchildren play sports. Ray was also a member of St. John the Baptist Church and the Knights of Columbus in Harrison, OH. Ray dedicated his life to his wife, children and grandchildren. He married Roselyn Bruns on July 27, 1957 at the St. Joseph Church, St. Leon, IN. In their 53 years of marriage they raised 5 children and were blessed with 15 grandchildren. He will be missed by his wife, Rose; four sons, Tony (Diane) of Guilford, Paul (Tammy) of Blue Jay, OH, Joe (Kim) of Harrison and Matt (Mariah) Vogelgesang of Ft. Wayne, IN; daughter Carol (Britt) Smith of Monfort Heights, OH; 15 grandchildren, Andrea & Eric Smith, Ben, Audrey, Anne, Luke, Ava, Evan, Logan, Lydia, Gavin, Gabe, Juliana, Grant and Harris Vogelgesang; along with his siblings Willard Vogelgesang, Mildred Simmermeyer and Ruth McCool. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by an infant son Jeffrey Raymond Vogelgesang, three brothers Donald, Robert & Joey Vogelgesang and one sister Thelma Hoff. Visitation Monday, November 1, 2010 from 4-8pm at Jackman Kercheval Meyers Funeral Home, Harrison. Mass of Christian burial Tuesday, November 2, 10:30am at St. John the Baptist Church, Harrison. Burial will follow in the church cemetery with military graveside rites. Memorials may be made to St. John School or Hospice of Cincinnati.