[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 94 (Tuesday, June 3, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E494-E495]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      HONORING PETE VOGT FOR HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO CENTRAL FLORIDA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DARREN SOTO

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 3, 2025

  Mr. SOTO. Mr. Speaker, born on August 18, 1944, in Wauchula, Florida, 
to Martha Pearle Mathis and George A. Vogt, Pete Vogt was a true 
Florida native. His deep-rooted connection to the state's landscapes 
was deeply influenced by his grandmother, Annabel Mathis, whose parents 
owned land in rural southwest Florida. Although his father's Air Force 
career led the family to move extensively around the U.S. during his 
youth, Pete always knew his roots were firmly planted among the 
southern palmetto hammocks and swamps.
  Pete was back in Florida for his high school years at Oak Ridge High 
School. He often commented that the opportunity to attend a brand-new 
high school without established cliques and traditions made forming a 
wide range of friendships easier and enriched his high school 
experience. One of these friends, Linda Osborne, would become his wife.
  Pete attended the University of South Florida, majoring in economics 
and developing a lifelong interest in politics, especially civil 
rights. Linda followed him to USF, and they married on August 21, 1965, 
while still in college. Pete graduated in 1966 and immediately joined 
the U.S. Army, as he believed military service was his responsibility 
as an American citizen. After boot camp, he was accepted into the 
Army's Officer Candidate School, and upon graduation was commissioned 
as a second lieutenant. To his delight, he was stationed in Germany. 
Once Linda graduated from USF, she was able to join him, and they 
enjoyed traveling in Europe. Their son, Eric, was born in Germany in 
1968.
  Once he had fulfilled his obligation to the Army, Pete and Linda 
returned to Orlando. Pete tried on a handful of jobs before finding 
that joining George A. Vogt Realty, his father's firm in Belle Isle, 
was the right fit. Pete excelled in building client relationships, 
sharing an endless supply of jokes, and maintaining connections with 
past clients. He joined the Orlando Regional Realtors Association and 
served on the board from 1970 until 2010.
  Pete became invoked in Democratic Party politics and worked on scores 
of local, state, and national campaigns over the years. He was deeply 
committed to civic engagement and women's and minority rights. His 
civic and political activities were extensive. A short list of boards 
on which Pete served includes the Mennello Museum of American Art, 
Guardian Care Nursing Home, Tiger Bay Club, Orange Audubon Society, and 
the First Unitarian Church of Orlando.
  An intellectual at his core, Pete was insatiably curious, and each 
new interest led him to devour multiple books on the subject. Pete 
considered any week incomplete without a

[[Page E495]]

visit to a bookstore. His home overflows with books on an incredible 
range of topics and people, including several books by and about Marcel 
Proust. Pete maintained that reading Proust had ``changed his life'' 
and quoted him endlessly to anyone who would listen. Starting in high 
school, he continued studying Spanish throughout his life, adding 
French somewhere along the way. His curiosity about the world led him 
to travel extensively, with Mexico, Central, and South America his 
favorite destinations. He scaled mountains, trekked the Amazon and 
hitch-hiked, and met people and learned about their cultures every 
chance he got. While he sometimes traveled alone, many of his most 
memorable adventures were shared with friends with whom he forged 
lifelong friendships.
  After Linda's death from breast cancer in 2006, his friends connected 
him with her friend Martha Haynie, and after several very tentative 
starts, Pete and Marty decided to share their lives. Over the next 19 
years they indulged together their love of reading and cooking, theater 
and concerts, politics, traveling, and being with friends. Their 
adventures ranged from the mountains of Mexico to the streets of Paris 
and the Jungles of Ecuador. Pete's diagnosis of Parkinson's disease 
gradually slowed them down, and the COVID epidemic finally brought them 
home to Belle Isle to stay.
  Pete led a rich and full life, surrounded by dear and loyal friends.

                          ____________________