Frederick Albert Voigt
Born October 10, 1911 | Died January 31, 2003

Fritz - May 1994	Fritz - January 1984

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On The Occasion Of My Fathers Passing
This is the place my father is

Frederick Albert Voigt - Memorial Service - As presented by Frederick C. Voigt

I would like to share a brief biography of our father. As many of you know our Dad was a private man and some of this may be new to you. My words are not only my thoughts but also those of my sister Sally, and brother Colin.
Dad was born October 10, 1911 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin to Frederick and Bertha Maurer Voigt. His father was a veteran of the Spanish American War and WWI and a machinist by trade. Before marrying his mother was a schoolteacher and later a homemaker. Our father had a younger brother, Henry, who now lives in Wilmington, Delaware with his wife. Dad learned to read at a young age and became an avid reader, a practice that continued all his life. He recounted the story that in grade school he would be issued his reading books for the entire semester and would read them all within several days, much to the dismay of the teacher. As a boy, Dad made spending money selling the Saturday Evening Post and Ladies Home Journal. In his early years, he took up the hobby of stamp collecting and even published a small booklet on stamp varieties of the Washington Bicentennial Issue. At Sheboygan High Dad was an enthusiastic swimmer on the swim team. During the summer he was a life guard at the beach on Lake Michigan. In high school he was on the staff of his school year book "Lake Breeze" as well as their weekly newspaper.

Before graduating from high school Dad decided that he wanted to seek an appointment to attend the US Military Academy at West Point. He obtained the necessary information on the entrance exams but discovered his eyesight was just below the acceptable level. Dad then decided to attend the University of Wisconsin where he received a degree in Mechanical Engineering. While there he enrolled in the Advanced Reserve Officer Training Corp because he felt it was the "right thing to do", an example set by his Father, doing one's duty to country. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant. After graduation Dad accepted a position with General Electric in Massachusetts where he worked on jet engine design.

With the US becoming involved in WWII, Dad answered the call to active duty in 1942 and traveled to Washington DC. However, this was briefly interrupted when he asked for emergency leave to return to Madison, Wisconsin to marry his sweet heart. Dad had met Mother when she was teaching in Plymouth, Wisconsin. They were married February 14, 1942 and returned to Washington the next day.

In Washington he joined G-2 intelligence with the Central European Branch. Dad became the "expert" on German order-of-battle and received recognition for his efforts in tracking the German Army. Also during this period he was ordered to England several times where he worked with British Intelligence at Bletchly Park on the breaking of the German "Enigma" codes, and the resulting information known by the code word "ULTRA".

Our parents' first child, Sally, was born in 1944 and I was born in 1945. After WWII ended Dad left active duty as a Lieutenant Colonel in the reserves and returned briefly to General Electric. Late in 1946, he joined the Central Intelligence Group, later called the Central Intelligence Agency. It was obvious from this action that he had been bitten by the intelligence bug. In 1949 his second son, Colin was born. As a family, we knew nothing about my fathers duties at CIA. Dad understood how to keep secrets. It was not until years after he retired that various historical facts were declassified and we learned more about his past career. Dad was one of the early pioneers of CIA. He worked the hard target of the Soviet Union and helped establish the CIA "Watch Office". In addition, he was closely associated with the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft program from the start. Although we will never know all the activities he was involved in, it was individuals like our Father who made the CIA a first rate organization in defending the freedom of our country. Dad retired from CIA in 1971 and he and our Mother had a summer retirement home built in Danville, Vermont. They spent the next 29 summers there enjoying the north woods, cool summers, and close friendships developed over the years. They were especially fortunate in that Dad's brother, Hank, and wife Nan also spent the summers in Vermont only several miles away. Dad's life long interest in wood working surfaced again in Vermont when he reproduced the old historic sign on the Danville, Vermont train station for the local historical society.

Our father instilled in each of us the character traits of honesty, humility, responsibility, and hard work. He believed that there was good in everyone and that we should look for this in people.

Although Dad was not a talkative person, he possessed a dry sense of humor and had the ability to discuss many things with a great degree of knowledge. I always felt that Dad should have appeared on a TV quiz show.

Dad's long and fruitful life was truly a blessing from God.

Washington Post Articles

Death Notice - February 6, 2003 - Frederick A. Voigt

VOIGT, FREDERICK A. (Age 91)
Of Goodwin House West, Falls Church, VA, died Friday, January 31, 2003. He was born October 10, 1911 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin to the late Frederick C. and Bertha Maurer Voigt. He was a World War II veteran and retired from the US Army Reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel. He was also a career intelligence officer at the Central Intelligence Agency for 25 years, retiring in 1971. Survivors include Amy Chisholm Voigt, his wife of 61 years; a daughter Sally Schumacher and husband Jon of Hollywood, MD; a son Frederick C. Voigt and wife Mary Jane of Oak Hill, VA; a son Colin W. Voigt and wife Doreen of Shepherdstown, WV; grandchildren, Jennifer Kimmel, John Hagen, Kristen Hagen, Jill Voigt, Michael Voigt, Kara Voigt, Grant Voigt, and Brittany Voigt; and Abigail Hagen, a great grandchild. Also surviving is his only brother Henry Voigt and wife Anna of Wilmington, DE. Interment will be in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA with Military Honors on February 12. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions maybe made to Westminster Presbyterian Church, youth transportation bus fund, 2701 Cameron Mills Rd. Alexandria, VA 22302.

Obituary - February 8, 2003 - Frederick Albert Voigt Intelligence Officer

Frederick Albert Voigt, 91, an intelligence officer for the CIA and its predecessor from 1946 until he retired in 1971, died of a lung ailment Jan. 31 at the nursing unit of Goodwin House West in Falls Church.

He lived in Arlington from the 1940s until he moved to Goodwin House in the late 1990s. He also had a residence in Danville, Vt.

Mr. Voigt, a native of Sheboygan, Wis., was a mechanical engineering graduate of the University of Wisconsin. During World War II, he was an intelligence officer specializing in the German order of battle. He worked closely with British intelligence and was involved in the effort to break the German cipher machine Enigma and in handling the resulting information.

He retired from active duty as a major and from the Army Reserve as a lieutenant colonel.

At the CIA, he was involved in creating a framework for the new agency's intelligence-gathering. He was associated with the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft program in the 1960s and helped in the establishment of the CIA Watch Office.

Mr. Voigt was a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church.

Survivors include his wife of 61 years, Amy C. Voigt; a daughter, Sally Schumacher of Hollywood, Md.; two sons, Frederick C., of Oak Hill, Va., and Colin, of Shepherdstown, W.Va.; a brother; eight grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.

We Remember Them - Author Unknown

In the rising of the sun and in it's going down,
We remember them;

In the blowing of the wind and the cold of winter,
We remember them;

In the opening of buds and the warmth of of summer,
We remember them;

In the rustling of leaves and the beauty of autumn,
We remember them;

In the beginning of the year and when it ends,
We remember them;

When we are weary and in need of strength,
We remember them;

When we are lost and sick at heart,
We remember them;

When we have joys we yearn to share,
We remember them;

So long as we live, they too shall live, for they are now a part of us as
We remember them.

On Death - Kahlil Gibran

You would know the secret of death.
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.

In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.

Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.
Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

The 23rd Psalm - A Psalm of David, King James Version

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name' sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: For thou art with me;
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;
Thou annointest my head with oil; My cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.

Fritz - February 16, 2002

Fritz and Amy Voigt - October 18, 2002

Fritz, Kristen & Colin - Novemeber, 2002

Family Gathering after Memorial Service - February 12, 2003

Nan and Amy

Adriana, Kristen, Sally, Nan and Amy

Diana, Karl, Nan, Fred and Carol

Colin

Colin offers a toast to his dad...a bit of Laphroaig with mother Amy close by

Do not stand at my grave and weep - Author Unknown  Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there, I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain When you wake in the morning hush, I am the swift, uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circling flight. I am the soft starlight at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry I am not there, I did not die.

Photos by Jon Schumacher