Leon H. Whitney Jr. (Lee)

Lee Whitney (age 86) of Rocky Hill, NJ, and Vero Beach, FL, passed away peacefully on June 15, 2022, at the VNA Hospice House in Vero Beach surrounded by his family. He is survived by his loving wife of 64 years Julie, his sons Ken (wife Liz) and Rich (wife Nancy), and his daughters Nancy Schmidt (husband Dave) and Laura Carmack (husband Kevin). Lee was the proud and devoted grandfather of 12: Ashley Murphy (Mike), Kathryn Whitney, Meghan Whitney, Rachel Whitney, Amanda Schmidt, Kirby Carmack, Ali Whitney, Whitney Carmack, Trevor Schmidt, Lucy Whitney, Cole Carmack, and Cameron Schmidt. He was also the loving great-grandfather of Teagan, Kenley, and Locklyn Murphy. Lee was also a beloved uncle for many nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his parents Dr. Leon and Margaret Whitney, and his sister Nancy Pritchard Bear.

Lee was born in Brooklyn, NY, moved to Manhasset Long Island for middle school, and went to high school in Morristown, NJ. His athletic career got off to a good start in Manhasset, where he was the quarterback of the undefeated football team, and his running back was the NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown. He spent the summers of his youth at Camp Awosting in Morris, CT, where he was the perennial tennis champ. In high school, he played on the basketball, baseball, and tennis teams, and then went on to play tennis at St. Lawrence University.

In 1957, he earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from St. Lawrence University. As he would tell everyone, the most important thing that happened in college was meeting his future wife Julie Beaver. At St. Lawrence he served in the ROTC, and upon graduation he married Julie and moved to Arizona where he served in the Army Signal Corp at Fort Huachuca. After two years in the Army where he served as an officer, he took a job with Mountain Bell where he worked for the next 11 years in Arizona, Colorado, and Utah. In 1970, he requested a transfer back to New Jersey where he worked at Bell Laboratories and AT&T. Towards the end of his Bell System career, he worked on the special task force which came up with the Operating Companies’ divestiture plan. Upon divestiture in 1987, he retired and took a job in commercial real estate with J.T. Boyer in Princeton, NJ, before retiring for good in 2000.

Lee was active in volunteer work for many years which included starting an Episcopal Missionary Church and serving as President of a large Little League Baseball League in Bountiful, Utah. In New Jersey, he served on the Montgomery Planning Board for eight years and as a Committeeman for the Somerset County Republican organization. He was a charter member of the Montgomery / Rocky Hill Rotary Club serving as its third President in 1992. In Florida, his favorite volunteer work was helping to build Habitat for Humanity homes. He was a member of the Community Church in Vero Beach.

Lee’s true passion in life was being a husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He loved playing bridge and going to water aerobics with Julie. Throughout his life, he spent every moment he could coaching, watching, and playing numerous sports with his children and grandchildren. He particularly enjoyed playing golf with them at Orchid Island in Vero Beach and Springdale Golf Club in Princeton. He also had very fond memories of skiing in Utah and spending time at the New Jersey shore with the whole family. Lee was an avid reader of biographies and books about history, and loved passing on the details and/or life lessons from these books to the younger generations of the family.

Lee was known by everyone to be very outgoing and friendly. He had a wonderful gift of gab, and he loved meeting new people from all walks of life. At family meals, he always seemed to have a new story he wanted to share about a friend or someone he just met.

Lee will be deeply missed as a husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle, and friend. His passing is an immense loss to all who knew him and loved him so much.

A private memorial service for immediate family will be held in New Jersey in August. The family plans to hold a Celebration of Life in Orchid Island on Saturday, November 19, 2022. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Indian River Habitat for Humanity in memory of Lee Whitney via irchabitat.org/donate.

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Frank J. Vogt

Frank J. Vogt, 91, passed away peacefully on June 9, 2022, at his home at the Windrows in Princeton, NJ.

Frank was born May 16, 1931, in Queens Village, NY, to Clara and John Vogt. He and his sister, Annemarie (Vogt) Saccani, grew up in Bloomfield, NJ. He attended Newark State Teacher’s College (now Kean University) where he played varsity basketball and earned his B.S. degree in Industrial Arts and Elementary Education. He then served two years in the U.S. Army as a radar specialist based in Formosa (Taiwan) during the Korean conflict. Frank continued his education earning two M.A.s in education and administration from Montclair State University. Frank was a passionate educator for over 40 years serving as a teacher, a guidance counselor, and an administrator in the West Orange School system. He was President of both the Teachers and the Administrators Association. Frank was beloved by faculty and students and was widely recognized for his dedicated nurturing care of both.

Frank’s best decision was marrying Eileen Mary Reilly. They had a loving relationship over 58 years of marriage, meeting every challenge and joy together until Eileen’s death in 2014. Frank and Eileen lived for more than 50 years in West Orange and then moved to Princeton. Throughout his life Frank’s greatest devotion was to his family. Frank was known for his moral and physical strength and for his indefatigable work ethic as a provider — early in his teaching career he concurrently worked three jobs: in the early morning he was a milkman for Becker’s Farm, he would then teach, and then work nights as a master carpenter. Frank was supported by his Catholic faith and by serving as lecturer, a Holy Eucharist Minister, and a member of the Knights of Columbus. He enjoyed playing basketball with students and tennis and golf with lifelong friends. A strong swimmer, he favored family vacations in Lake George, NY, and at the family beach house in Manasquan, NJ, where he rose early every morning to ride his bicycle built-for-two to the bakery and left the beach first to get fresh Jersey corn and prepare dinner — what wonderful times were had. In retirement, Frank thoroughly enjoyed being a helping grandparent at the University League Nursery School, cheering at his grandsons’ Little League and soccer games, enjoying his grandsons’ singing with the American Boychoir, and being the go-to repair person at the Windrows.

Frank is survived by his son, Thomas F. Vogt, and his wife, Gwen Guglielmi, who was a loving supporter and organizer of his care. He is also survived by their sons Ryan, Tyler and his wife Shannon, and Eric, and by his daughter Susan (Vogt) Guidone, whose music, especially in his later years, brought him joy, and her husband Glenn Guidone, and their sons Justin, Evin, and Austin, by his sister-in-law, Margaret Oates, and by many nieces, nephews, and family members and by legions of students he influenced and friends he cherished.

The family is very grateful to Frank’s lifelong friends, Eileen and Don Hoffler, to his physician, Dr. David Barile, and to his dedicated caregivers Robert Nkomo, Marcia Higginbotham, Cindy Odinacach, and Chris Godsent who lovingly supported him during the homestretch of his life.

Frank’s life may be remembered by donations to the Princeton BoyChoir/Westrick Music Academy and The Jackson Laboratory.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Queenship of Mary Roman Catholic Church, 16 Dey Road, Plainsboro Township, NJ 08536, on Saturday June 25 at 10:30 a.m. followed by a reception.

Funeral and cremation services provided by Mather-Hodge Funeral Home, 40 Vandeventer Avenue, Princeton, NJ.