Richard Frank Atkinson: 1936 – 2024
Richard Frank Atkinson, 87, of Cheyenne died on June 1, 2024. He was born July 29, 1936, in Emmetsburg, Iowa.
Richard started his career early by joining the Army with one of his buddies directly after high school. Later he switched from the Army to the Air Force and finished his first career in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He was very proud of his military career, traveling around the U.S. and abroad with his wife and kids in tow. During his time in the military, Richard worked on achieving his next career goal of getting a college degree in accounting, while attending night school. When he retired from the military, he went directly into the credit union business. He started at Warren Federal Credit Union (Blue), then went to WyHy Federal credit union, and eventually moved to Virginia to take on DuPont Federal Credit Union, where he retired again after another 20 years of service. He and his wife of 69 years (Barbara) decided to come back to Cheyenne to be closer to family and enjoy retirement.
During his career, he made many friends. They all enjoyed traveling together, taking various cruises all around the country. He was especially fond of his friend, “The Colonel” who also had a storied career in the military. Dick and Ingrid Sevigny were, and are, very special friends who traveled with them. Richard was infatuated with convertible cars, which his wife hated due to it always being windy and messing up her hair on the ride!
Dick was a longtime member of the Cheyenne Frontier Days committees. He started with the Indian committee and ending up with the contestants committee. Dick and Barbara were animal lovers as well. They had numerous Boxer dogs throughout their lives.
Dick was preceded in death by his wife of 69 years, Barbara; and his mother and father.
He is survived by his daughter, Jean (Bob) Weiss; son, Chris (Cherise) Atkinson; grandkids: Nici (Bryan) Welsch, Lindsey Snyder (Bailey Alexander), Brooke Hickey, and Abbi Atkinson; great-grandkids: Jayda, Baylee, and Reese Christine.
In lieu of flowers a donation can be made to the Cheyenne Animal Shelter in his honor.
Arrangements to be made at a later date.
Carole Marie Vogel: 1939 – 2024
Carole Marie (Peterson) Vogel passed away quietly on May 29, 2024. She was born in Bowman, North Dakota on March 26, 1939, the youngest daughter of Otto and Helen Peterson. Her youth was spent in Bowman until the family moved to Laurel, Montana. Carole graduated from Laurel High School in 1957 where she was a popular student and known as “Petey.” She was a Betty Crocker finalist and an excellent seamstress, and continued her culinary and sewing skills throughout life. During summers, she enjoyed spending time at her grandparents’ farm. She met and married her sweetheart, Gerald (Jerry) Vogel, who was serving in the Air Force, in August 1958.
After Carole and Jerry were married, Jerry was assigned to Glasgow Air Station in Glasgow, Montana and Carole was on her way to being a supportive and resilient Air Force wife as they began a long and successful partnership and career. Glasgow is where their first daughter was born. Jerry was soon transferred to Johnson Air Station in Japan. Carole followed on her first trip away from Montana, North Dakota and the United States. She was a young and naïve new wife and mother, but she was fearless and managed all the difficulties of that trip well. She was always open to new people and cultures and there was never an assignment or move with the Air Force where she didn’t meet new friends
While in Japan, their son was born. The family prospered well and enjoyed their time in Japan. Their next assignment was Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. While in San Antonio, Carole and Jerry’s youngest daughter was born.
Carole and Jerry’s travel after San Antonio took them to Hof and Naila, Germany, where they thoroughly enjoyed being part of the Bavarian culture and made friends for life of Robert and Hanna Hoerath. They traveled extensively in Germany, and it was the highlight of their lives together. They were assigned to Del Rio, Texas after Germany for a year, and then Jerry was sent to Vietnam and Thailand. The family stayed in Montana, surrounded by caring relatives and Carole continued her tradition of making sure everything was well managed and taken care of. Jerry came home from that tour and the family moved to Cheyenne, where Jerry was assigned to F. E. Warren AFB. They met lifelong friends in Ben and Patricia Webster, and Frank and Mary Guliuzza. They retired in Cheyenne.
Carole is survived by her childre: Deanne (Michael), Jeff (Kathy) of Cheyenne, and Pamela of Livermore, Colorado; her two grandsons, Sam (Danae) of Billings, Montana and their sons, Grayson and Riley; and Chase (Corey) of Johnstown, Colorado. She is survived by her sister, Erlys Fink of Walla Walla, Washington; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
Carole will be interred at the Yellowstone National Cemetery with Jerry, in Laurel, Montana in July of 2024.
