William Vogel

WORCESTER - Dr. William Vogel, 81, Worcester clinical and research psychologist, died at home on Friday, August 29, from the complications of diabetes.



He is survived by his wife, Susan Raymond Vogel; his son and daughter-in-law, Douglas Vogel and Jean Supel of Paxton; his daughter, Anne Vogel-Marr and son-in-law Jon Marr and their children, Nathan and Carey Marr, all of Damascus, MD; and his sister, Leah (Vogel) Asofsky of Bethesda, MD and her children and grandchildren.



Bill was born in New York City, the son of Herman and Frieda (Levine) Vogel. He grew up in Laurelton, NY, graduated from Wesleyan University in 1955 and earned his doctorate in clinical psychology from Clark University in 1959. After serving three years in the US Army Medical Service Corps (stationed at Walter Reed in D.C.) he returned to Worcester in 1962, accepting a post-doctoral research grant at Worcester State Hospital. He remained at WSH for more than 20 years in a variety of positions, including Director of Psychological Research, director of training for the psychology internship program and clinical consultant for Central Massachusetts to Bridgewater State Hospital, retiring in 1984. He was also an affiliate professor of psychology at Clark University from 1971-82.



His research interests were diverse. He worked and published widely in professional journals in several areas, including electroencephalography, autonomic behavior and psychological stress. In a collaboration with Donald Broverman, PhD, and endocrinologist Edward Klaiber, MD, that spanned more than 30 years, he studied the effects of hormones on mood, cognition, and behavior. In 1984, he joined the faculty of the UMass Medical School Department of Psychiatry, retiring only last year as an Associate Professor. Although he continued to be involved in research at UMass, he invested his time more heavily in teaching and supervision, spending probably the happiest years of his teaching career working with psychiatric residents and other clinical trainees who were learning the skills of marriage and family psychotherapy. When his health began to decline, Bill reduced his teaching role, but continued to see patients in the UMass outpatient psychiatric clinic until he retired completely in 2013.



Bill is perhaps best known in the community as a psychotherapist in private practice, work he loved and maintained throughout his career. His strongest legacy may be the appreciation of the many people whom he was able to help over the more than 50 years he was in practice.



A strong believer in civil rights, Bill was active in the ACLU for decades, serving as chairperson of the Worcester County Chapter of CLU of Massachusetts from 1971-1973 and again from 1975-1978 and treasurer of the local chapter in the eighties and nineties. During the most active years of the Civil Rights movement, he spent several summers in the 1960’s working in rural Georgia with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, setting up Head Start programs and registering voters.



A second love for Bill after psychology was history. He was an avid reader of both political and military history, seeming to maintain for immediate recall almost everything he read. He began flying lessons in 1986, eventually earning his private pilot’s license. He was able to enjoy recreational flying with his son, Douglas, for almost two decades until his declining health made flying difficult.



There are no calling hours. A memorial service open to the community will be held at 4 pm, Thursday, October 9, at the Albert Sherman Center on the UMass Medical School Campus, 55 Lake Ave. North, Worcester. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Bill’s memory to the Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, 340 Main St., Worcester, MA 01608; the Worcester Animal Rescue League, 139 Holden St., Worcester, MA 01606. A memorial fund in Bill’s name has been established at the Medical School to be used for resident training in marriage and family therapy. Contributions may be made payable to “UMass Memorial Foundation”and mailed to Department of Psychiatry, Chairman’s Office, UMMS/UMMHC, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester MA 01655. Miles Funeral Home, 1158 Main St., Holden is assisting the family with arrangements. To share a memory or offer the family an online condolence, please sign the guestbook at the top of this page.