Goodbye to a dear friend, Bev Vogt
/I don’t know where to begin talking about Bev Vogt. For one thing, it’s really hard to say Bev’s name without saying “and Bart,” her partner in life and geology. I joined GSOC in 1995, but it wasn’t until the GSOC annual banquet in 1998, where Bev asked me if I would step in as Vice President of the society, that I really got involved.
Bev arrived in the field of geology by a circuitous route. She was born and raised in the Midwest., and received a B.A. degree in English with a minor in music from Midland College, Fremont, Nebraska. She taught English and music in public schools for eight years in various places in Nebraska, Missouri, and Minnesota.
Bev moved to Oregon in 1972, and that very year she joined GSOC. She also went back to school, earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in geology from Portland State University. Bev’s master’s thesis under advisor Marvin Beeson is Vogt, B.F., 1981, “The stratigraphy and structure of the Columbia River Basalt Group in the Bull Run Watershed, Oregon”, Portland State University master's thesis, 151 p. Unfortunately, I could not find it online, but it is referenced in a number of other publications, including this article from the August 1984 issue of Oregon Geology: “Exploring the Neogene history of the Columbia River: Discussion and geologic field trip guide to the Columbia River Gorge,” by Terry L. Tolan, Marvin H. Beeson, and Beverly F. Vogt.
Bev worked for the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries from 1977 until 1997 as a geologist, editor, publications manager, and outreach person. After she retired, she spent time at DOGAMI and the Nature of the Northwest Information Center, which she began, as a volunteer.
I have gleaned much of the above information about Bev from her autobiographical description which she wrote for the GSOC archives after her 1998 presidency. She did not include a lot of personal information in that document, but stated that she was divorced and had two sons, two daughters-in-law, and five grandchildren. Most touchingly, she also wrote, “I have lived with my best friend, Richard Bartels, since 1988. We study, talk, and observe geology whenever we can.”
Being VP in 1998 was so easy because as the incoming President, Bev had already lined up almost all of the speakers. Bev and her partner Bart were also very important in the President’s field trip that I produced in 1999 to Malheur Field Station, Steens Mountain, and the surrounding area. We went out there for about a week and I didn’t have hard and fast plans for one of the days. Bev and Bart stepped up and led the group to look at the inverted topography of Wright’s Point and I think we also went through some of the Rattlesnake Tuff outcrops that Martin Streck et al had described in a field guide published in Oregon Geology in May/June 1999. We had an outstanding day and an outstanding trip.
Bev and Bart were the mainstays for the club for quite a few years. In the 1990’s, several key members of the society were aging past the point of involvement, and Bart’s and Bev’s organizational skills and expertise held us together. They got a lot of new people involved in the society and over the next few years, the membership stopped shrinking. Bev helped me plan another field trip to the south Oregon Coast in 2003, and is one of my favorite times spent with her. She also helped out with the GSOC newsletter by putting together the calendar during the 2000’s.
About 2005, enough new blood had joined that the society began to reinvent itself a bit and offer a larger variety of field trips and speakers. Bev was Secretary of the society in these years. Bev and Bart also led several very fun field trips, including those to the Klamath River and Summer Lake, in which I participated. Other choice field trips were planned by Janet Rasmussen, Dave Olcott, and Larry Purchase. Also during this time, there was formed a core group of members who really seemed to care about GSOC and making it a fun place to learn about geology, and Bev and Bart were at the heart of this group.
Eventually time took its toll and both Bev and Bart could not continue at the level of involvement they had formerly done. Paul Edison-Lahm took over as secretary and I recall sadly a little seminar that Bev and Bart gave at their house about rocks and minerals as an acknowledgement of their letting go of their leadership roles. They led a final field trip in 2013 to the Crooked River Caldera and Wildcat Mountain Caldera. Bev was having eyesight problems by this time, and I helped her get the maps and graphics ready for the trip guide.
We who spent so many happy hours with Bev (and Bart) talking about geology, breaking rocks, taking long dusty car rides to see rocks, and meeting monthly to talk about rocks, will miss her forever. We have been so lucky to have known her.
Carol Hasenberg
Many other members of GSOC have benefitted from Bev Vogt’s leadership in the group. The following memories are shared as noted:
From Dave Olcott:
I too was saddened to hear of Bev's passing. I've attached a few images of this very special lady. She always brought or displayed a little sunshine no matter what the occasion, leading a field trip or participating in one. Rain, wind, hot temperatures or cold did not dampen Bev's positive disposition. It was always a privilege to have her and Bart on a field trip. On those field trips I coordinated, I was always comforted to see their names on the registration list. They both had such an incurable love for geology and for each other. In more recent years, as Bev's vision waned, her desire to participate on field trips, Friday night speakers, and social get-togethers remained strong. On field trips her special man guided her safely and provided a commentary on what was not clearly visible. Where you saw Bev, you saw Bart, often hand in hand. Bev's indelible spirit will be missed but definitely not forgotten.
From Yumei Wang:
I first met Bev Vogt when I started working for DOGAMI as an earthquake engineer in 1994. I soon learned that Bev, in addition to being a hard-working and super-efficient publication coordinator for DOGAMI, had a wealth of knowledge about Oregon's geology. I admired her warmth and wit, but the fact that she was passionate about "all things geology" is what truly stood out. In fact, her love for geology was as deep as the earth's core. This included putting her face against rock cliffs (aka rock climbing). It was about my second day on the job when Bev invited me to give a talk to GSOC. In April 1994, Bev brought me over to PSU's Cramer Hall and I presented my geotechnical investigation work on Lyons Dam, California. There, I quickly learned that GSOCers were Bev's second family. Bev's many contributions to both DOGAMI and GSOC are rich and influential. She will be sorely missed!
From Jan Kem:
Bev, and Bart, who was also almost always in the same "picture" in my memory, was certainly one of the most outstanding people in GSOC and among my friends. Ever smiling, curious, and optimistic are ways I would describe her.
From Janet Rasmussen:
I met Bev Vogt when I first began attending GSOC meetings in room S17, about 1997. She introduced herself to me at that first meeting. I was interested to learn that she had begun studying geology after being an English teacher for several decades. I was a nurse at that time, and had begun studying geology a few years before. Throughout my time in GSOC, she and Bart were great friends and excellent resources for many questions I had. We enjoyed field trips, lectures, and social gatherings together.
We appreciated her sharp-as-a-razor wit and fascinating stories of her time studying geology in middle age. I was so impressed that she had become a rock climber during that time too.
From Julia Lanning:
It was your smile and laughter that first caught my attention. I was intrigued and intimidated in equal measure because you were an actual geologist and I was well, geology-ignorant. Your warmth invited me close enough to experience your dry sense of humor and near enough to hear the many stories about your lifetime of adventure. I never told you, but you became and remain my treasured role model. You were an adventurer, trail blazer, teacher and friend. Oh…and a geologist. I so miss you, Bev.
