Jeffrey Vogt

Jeffrey Andrew Vogt passed away in Denver on Friday, October 2, 2020.

Many of his friends and family call him Zeph, short for Zefram Cochrane, the inventor of warp drive on Star Trek.  It is a childhood nickname that suited him.  He had a love of science and astronomy from a young age.  Jeff built his first telescope at age 13 and he led star-gazing sessions at Chamberlin Observatory as a teenager.  Of course he also liked things that went boom and enjoyed building and setting off all manner of model rockets and Fourth of July fireworks.

Moving out of the family home while still in high school, Jeff embraced his sense of independence early in his life.   He started his career in restaurants and worked for many years for WR Grace as a chef in Denver, Kansas City, and Anchorage.  After WR Grace, he held positions in various restaurants in Denver and went on to own and operate his own restaurant for several years.

Jeff shared his love of cooking with his friends and family, and he was a terrific host.  There were holiday dinners, Sunday football games, and so many Christmas cookies made to share.

Jeff studied geology in college and loved the outdoors.  He peaked many of the Colorado Fourteeners, and he spent several months backpacking across the continental divide, sleeping in snow caves.   Jeff’s preferred environment was always the outdoors, be it in the mountains or on his front porch in Denver.

For many years, Jeff prospected and mined gold in Colorado.  He opened and ran a placer mine, the Katie Maggie Mae, outside of Alma, Colorado.  That was an incredible experience which included a very colorful cast of characters.  All were friends of Zeph.  His interest in gold mining never ended, and samples from his last venture were displayed at the Colorado School of Mines museum.

After considerable wanderlust as a young man, Jeff put down roots in 1996 with his wife Mary.  After dating each other for a decade, the two wed on May 3 1996.  Jeff and Mary were devoted to each other and lived happily in a little house on Eudora Street.  They were blessed with two wonderful children.  John was born in 2002 and Anna was born in 2004.

Jeff was delighted by his children and immensely proud of them.  He was a dedicated and loving father and husband.  He closed his restaurant in 2011, became a stay-at-home dad, and always took the best care of his family.   It was a pleasure to come home and find Jeff there, happy to have his family together again.