Obituary of Rhein Vogel

Clifton Park - Rhein Vogel Jr., 83, entered the arms of the Lord on Saturday, July 26, 2014 at his home in Clifton Park, NY. He was born on July 3, 1931 in Rotterdam, NY to Rhein Sr. and Elizabeth A. Vogel. Rhein grew up in Rotterdam and graduated from Draper High School. After high school he attended Union College in Schenectady, NY where he received a B.S. in Civil Engineering in 1953. While at Union, he played soccer and was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity. In 1952, he was selected by the U.S. Government as one of the outstanding college engineering students to work on a summer survey crew for the Alaska Road Commission. During his senior year at Union College, he worked part-time at C.T. Male Associates. Upon graduation, Rhein joined the Philadelphia Electric Company where he designed gas and electric distribution systems. In 1954, seeing no opportunity for advancement in Philadelphia, he returned to C.T. Male Associates where he worked as a licensed Professional Engineer and Professional Land Surveyor. Rhein was the first partner in the firm who was not a member of the founding Male family, and became a principal in 1972 when C.T. Male became a privately held professional corporation. During Clifton Park's rapid growth in the '60's, Rhein did many of the subdivision layouts and street patterns. In addition, he helped design the town's water and sewer systems and established relationships with developers in executing house designs. In a Capital District Business Review article, Rhein said, "I was personally involved with almost every subdivision in Clifton Park from the 1960's to the late 1970's." He described this as one of his proudest accomplishments. He also designed the Clifton Knolls home in which he and his family lived. Rhein watched C.T. Male Associates grow from 12 people working out of a farmhouse to a company employing around 300 people. To handle this growth, he oversaw the design of the current building for C.T. Male Associates. He managed the Environmental Section and consulted at the conceptual stage on all engineering and construction management projects at C.T. Male. He was a licensed professional engineer in New York, New Jersey, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. He was also a professional land surveyor. His professional affiliations included the Water Pollution Control Federation, the New York Water Pollution Control Association, the Adirondack Water Works Conference, the Southeastern Water Works Conference, the New York State Association of Professional Land Surveyors, and the American Society of Civil Engineers. He served as President of the Eastern New York Society of Land Surveyors and as President/Director of the Eastern New York Chapter of the Consulting Engineers Council of New York. Rhein was with C.T. Male for 42 years serving as Chief Engineer, then Chairman of the Board, and finally as President of the corporation. He retired in 1996 but continued as an occasional consultant for the company. Rhein had a strong work ethic and believed in our youth and in education. He taught an engineering course at Union College and was an integral part of developing an engineering/construction program for Shenedehowa high school students. Rhein married his high school sweetheart, Gloria P. Stay in 1953 in Schenectady, NY, at St. Luke's Church. They were married for 61 years. He enjoyed skiing with his family, spending time with them at their summer home on Lake George, fishing, hunting, working in his vegetable garden, and creating woodworking projects for his children, grand-children, and great-grandchildren. As a father and grandfather, he always attended, enjoyed, and supported academic and athletic events that involved his family. Rhein is survived by his wife Gloria of Clifton Park, NY and his daughters, Pamela Vogel of Rochester, NY and Kim Zeronda (William) of Clifton Park, NY. He was the beloved grandfather of grandchildren, Jason (Stephanie) Zeronda, Erica Templeton, Tyler (Julie) Zeronda, and Rhein Zeronda; and his great-grandchildren, Evangeline, Lillienne, and Liam Zeronda. He also has many nieces and nephews. Rhein was preceded in death by his son, Eric R. Vogel, his parents, Elizabeth and Rhein Vogel Sr., and his siblings, Robert and Raymond Vogel. The family has arranged calling hours at Daly's Funeral Home, 242 McClellan St., Schenectady, NY 12304, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, August 4, 2014. A Christian service will be held at Grace Fellowship Church, 1 Enterprise Ave. Clifton Park, NY, 12065 at 11:00 am, August 5, 2014. A short graveside service will follow the funeral at the Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery, 2501 Troy Schenectady Rd Schenectady, NY, 12309. All attendees are invited to a celebratory luncheon held at 1:30 pm at Grace Fellowship Church. Memorial donations may be directed to Grace Fellowship Church, 1 Enterprise Ave., Clifton Park, NY. 12065, designated to the Building Fund in memory of Rhein Vogel Jr.