By Rebecca Goodman
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Mr. Voelkel

SHARONVILLE - Alfred Voelkel escaped death as a child in Nazi Germany and devoted the rest of his life to caring for the elderly.

He died in the arms of his wife, Barbara, on Christmas Eve after battling multiple myeloma, aortic stenosis and diabetes for three years. The Sharonville resident was 73.

Mr. Voelkel, known as "Fred" to most, was one of few to escape Hadamar, a hospital in Germany where unwanted people were executed by gas or lethal injection.

More than 10,000 people considered undesirable by the German government, including orphans, perished at the hospital.

Mr. Voelkel, born in 1929, was raised in orphanages in Nuremberg and sent to Hadamar when he was 10.

"He remembered that vividly because someone came to the orphanage, got him and he took one little case of clothing," his wife said.

In 1939 when he was at Hadamar about 100 "patients" a day were sent to the gas chamber. "He was able to get out because there was a guard to whom he got a note and he asked the guard to get this note to his uncle," his wife said. The uncle procured his release and he subsequently lived with several different families.

But after the war, Mr. Voelkel was homeless. "There were times he stood in line for bread and water. There were times he ate out of garbage cans," his wife said. "He was a survivor." His savior was the Lutheran church, which "gathered up all the children and teenagers who were walking the streets," and offered to educate them.

Mr. Voelkel earned a bachelor's degree in long-term care of the elderly. His dream was to come to the United States. After years of waiting he wrote to President Eisenhower.

The White House notified him that his visa had been granted. Mr. Voelkel arrived in the Unites States - alone and unable to speak English - on Dec. 19, 1954. He would be a dedicated and patriotic U.S. citizen for the rest of his life.

He came to Ohio because his sponsors, a Lutheran family, were in Columbus. He did graduate work in labor relations at Ohio State University and in business management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

He developed home health care programs for those living independently as well as a respite/vacation program for caregivers. He also adapted a sensory remotivation program for the elderly.

Mr. Voelkel taught courses in long-term care administration at Xavier University and was director of operations of Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services, vice president of senior services for Bethesda Hospitals, executive director of Scarlet Oaks Retirement Community in Clifton and of Maple Knoll Village in Springdale, and director of Westover Retirement Community in Hamilton.

He was a member of the board of the Southwest Ohio Council of Aging and Springdale City Council.

In addition to his wife of 19 years, survivors include a son, Erich Voelkel of Texas; a sister, Agnes Nagel of Nuremberg, Germany; and three grandsons.

Services have been held. Burial was at Rest Haven Cemetery in Evendale. Memorials: LifeSphere, Maple Knoll Village, 11100 Springfield Pike, Cincinnati 45246.

E-mail rgoodman@enquirer.com