Vogeler, Paul Matthew

Paul Matthew Vogeler, 54, of Cedar Rapids, died Monday, March 25, 2013, at Mercy Medical Center following a courageous battle with lung cancer. A Celebration of Life Open House will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, March 30, at the Hiawatha Community Center located within the Hiawatha City Hall at 101 Emmons St., Hiawatha, IA 52233. Teahen Funeral Home is serving the family.

Paul is survived by his wife, Stephanie; one daughter, Elizabeth (James) Daniel of Pueblo, Colo.; three sons, Matthew (Patricia) of Marion and Alexander and Sean of Cedar Rapids; four grandchildren, Logan, Taye, Kimora and James and one grandson on the way; three brothers, Michael (Hala), John (Diane) and Joel (Deb); one sister, Linda (Richard) McClanathan; mother-in-law, Carole Boddicker; brother-in-law, Mathias (Chris) Boddicker II; two sisters-in-law, Joan Boddicker-Johnston (Thomas Johnston) and Ann Boddicker (Michael Goldschmidt); and many nieces and nephews.

Paul is preceded in death by his parents and father-in-law, Mathias Boddicker.

Paul was born Aug. 20, 1958, in Waterloo, the son of Melvin and Ethel (Kelly) Vogeler. He graduated from Benton Community High School in 1976 and married Stephanie Ann Boddicker, his high school sweetheart, on Sept. 2, 1978, in Newhall. Although he worked for a time as a police officer in Belle Plaine, at the IE coal plant and Farmstead Foods Inc., he retired from the Cargill bean plant after 20 years of service. While working full time at Cargill, he also provided tremendous support, encouragement and numerous hours of lost sleep to help his wife obtain her masters in the Physician Assistant Program. Once that was completed, he then embarked on his own degree and completed a registered nurse degree from Kirkwood in 2008. Paul was an avid reader, enjoyed traveling, cooking and hunting. He looked forward to his annual deer hunting expedition with his sons, brothers, nephews and friends. His greatest love, however, was his family.

The family would like to extend a special thanks to Dr. Yang Ahn and Dr. Peter Ahn for providing acupuncture during his chemotherapy and Dr. Chirantan Ghosh and staff at The Ghosh Center for their compassionate care of Paul throughout his illness.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund is being established. The family will make a contribution in his name.

Online condolences may be directed to the family at .

Published in The Gazette March 27, 2013.