Kathleen Ann "Kathie" Vogt

Vogt, Kathleen Ann “Kathie" (Nee Julius), Sunday, September 6, 2009. Fortified with the Sacraments of Holy Mother Church. Kathie was a native Saint Louisian and never seriously considered living anywhere else. Her German father (Anthony P. Julius) and Irish mother (Louise M. Shine) gave her an appreciation for cultural differences which fascinated her all her life. Her Catholic schooling exposed her to Latin, and she was henceforth hooked on the mystery of languages. Her early schooling was through the Epiphany of Our Lord grade school, excepting a brief stint in Omaha, NB. Her older brother Jim stirred in her a lifelong competitive spirit, and she began to excel in sports while in elementary school. She had a particular love for basketball, and had a quickness and sureness that sustained her team. She thoroughly enjoyed her years at Nerinx Hall High School, but enjoyed school sports the most. She was on the Student Council all four years, and was a class president. She was also on the varsity basketball and softball teams where she continued to excel while earning good grades. About this time she was recruited for the Kutis Women's Fast Pitch Softball team. She was a catcher, a position she relished because it was right in the center of the action. She worked full time to pay tuition while carrying a full load of subjects at St. Louis University. She was able to finance her entire college education while working as a playground supervisor for the city of St. Louis, particularly Wohl Recreation Center, while also playing softball all season long. She graduated with a degree in Spanish and Education in 1961, and accepted a Spanish teaching position in the Hazelwood School District , where she worked for thirty years. The next year she met Gary Vogt who had just joined the faculty, and they married in July 1963. Kathie continued to play fast pitch softball for Kutis and for Manchester for another ten years, winning many trophies. In 2000 she was inducted into the St. Louis Softball Hall of Fame. Eventually, a colleague introduced her to tennis, and the start of another stage of her varied life. Her athletic ability and competitive intelligence led to more awards, and even to a job as a tennis pro at the Glen Echo Country Club where she worked for five years while teaching. When a shoulder injury forced her retirement from tennis she took up golf, which remained her sport for the rest of her life. She went to several national Senior Olympic Games in both tennis and golf, and has numerous ribbons for achievements. She greatly enjoyed golfing with the women in her Mid-Rivers golf league. In 1969 she earned her Masters degree in Spanish from St. Louis University. For many years she was faculty sponsor of the National Honor Society. She continued as a dedicated teacher and administrator until she retired from the Hazelwood School District in 1991 as Language Arts Department Chair, which gave her responsibilities in evaluating teachers and seeing to the smooth running of the department in the areas of English, all foreign languages, newspaper, library and yearbook. Friends made as co-workers remain some of her most cherished, and she rejoiced in the successes of her students, including many who themselves became educators. After retiring from teaching, she took a job as a foreign language consultant for Glencoe McGraw-Hill book company, which required her to travel on short notice throughout the midwest and eastern US to give textbook presentations and workshops. She enjoyed explaining to teachers the benefits of choosing her company's books, and made another set of fast friends. She continued to work for Glencoe until her death, a period of seventeen years. Almost immediately after her retirement she was offered another opportunity she couldn't pass, helping supervise student teachers in language arts for Webster University. She deeply loved showing potential teachers the hazards and joys of a teaching career. She worked for Webster for sixteen years until her death. A few weeks before he death she accepted yet another job helping to form teachers, and she was beginning the process of working with them during their professional development days when death claimed her. She also worked on the Cable Board for the city of Black Jack, MO. While a teacher she was active in professional associations, and was the president of FLTA, the Missouri Foreign Language Teachers Association for several years, and active in ACTFL, the American Council on the teaching of Foreign Languages. She was a natural coach, mentor and friend to everyone she met. With more than a hundred trophies, plaques and ribbons for her own sports accomplishments, she loved to root for the Cardinals and the Notre Dame football team, and found great comfort in watching such sports as college world series or golf on tv. No matter when you were with Kathie, you were immediately someone she cared about. She had the ability to make everyone feel valuable to her and to others She was found to have non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in January. She did not tolerate the chemo treatments, and had to be moved to radiation treatments. These took a great toll on her strength, and left her unable to fight off the infections that lead to her heart attack and death. She will be greatly missed by surviving family and friends, including her husband Gary, her brother Rev. James A. Julius, her sister Mary M. Hilliard and her brother John (Jack) D. Julius. She was preceded in death by her parents and her older sister Jeanne M. Klosterman. She leaves behind an extended family. Funeral from HUTCHENS MORTUARY, 675 Graham Rd., Florissant at 9:15 AM, Friday, Sept. 11 to St. Angela Merici Church for 10 AM Mass. Interment Calvary Cemetery. Visitation 4-9 PM, Thursday, Sept. 10 at Hutchens Mortuary. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Missouri Baptist Cancer Center, Sisters of Precious Blood, O’Fallon, MO., The Sisters of Divine Providence, or the charity of your choice. On-line guestbook at www.hutchensmortuary.com

Kathleen Ann "Kathie" Vogt

May 23, 1939 - September 6, 2009