Irene Loretta Vogel

Irene Vogel was our hero, role model, and the best wife, mom, grandmother, and great grandmother that anyone could ever ask for. Born in Brooklyn, New York on March 20th, 1928 Irene joined older brother Bertram Miller and became the youngest child of Rose and Jack Miller.

As an independent woman, Irene was ahead of her time and attended City College of New York after graduating high school. She studied business, and then went on for her masters in teaching. Eventually she taught business classes at the local community college.

Irene met her future husband on a blind double date with another man. Allen Vogel happened to be the other man on that blind date, and Irene was more attracted to him than her actual date that night. Allen and Irene married in New York on December 25, 1948. After residing in both Philadelphia and New York, Irene was not completely on board when Allen decided they should move away from her family in New York to reside in southern California, which he believed was cleaner. They raised their two daughters, Susie and Andee in Rolling Hills California on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. A few years after their move to southern California, Irene’s keen business skills helped her husband start his own insurance agency. She eventually went to work for the Palos Verdes Peninsula Board of Realtors which opened her up to a world she would work in for many years.

Irene and Allen moved to Las Vegas in 1974. Irene was hired by the Las Vegas Board of Realtors, which would become the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors. In 1977 she became the Executive Vice President of the Association. Irene took a sabbatical from the Association in 1990 becoming an active realtor and going to work for Country Club Hills by Christopher Homes, Irene would return to the Association in 1999 as the Chief Executive Officer of the Association and would remain there until her retirement on December 31, 2011.

Irene’s favorite moments were spent with her friends and family. She loved to travel, shop, go out to lunch, and play tennis.

Irene was a pillar in the Las Vegas Community and gave so much of herself to charitable organizations. She was very active with the Ronald McDonald House and the Jewish Federation. She served for more than 10 years on the Board of Directors for the Friends of Channel 10 and her love of education led to her Serving on the Board of the College of Southern Nevada Foundation. Irene chaired the Selection Committee for the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Las Vegas Program and she served on the Board of the Frontier Council of the Girl Scouts. In 1990 Irene earned the Community Achievement Award in Real Estate from the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. In August 2007 Irene received the Lifetime Achievement Award and in 2008 she was selected as one of In Business Las Vegas’ 50 Most Influential People in Las Vegas.

Although Irene gave so much of herself to charity and work, she was a giving and devoted friend and nothing less than the perfect wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. Her family’s love for her will only continue to grow and she will be greatly missed by those she left behind. She is survived by her daughters and son in laws - Andee and Neal Ruby, and Susie and Dave Allazetta; her grandchildren - Heather and Robbie Luther, Lindsay and Shaun Schoener, Jamie and Aaron Frost, Desi and Makena Allazetta, and Alexa and Chris Cooper; and great grandchildren - Lincoln, Gray, Crew, Carson, Gauge, Ryker, Arya, Maddie, Jett, Dove, and Lucca.