Category: Obituaries

A Wisconsin Dells native whose loss of a coin flip kept him off the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima has died in Albuquerque, N.M., at the age of 92. Leon D. Smith left UW-Madison as a student and was drafted into the Army in 1943. Two years later, he was an electrical engineer and one of three “weaponeers” on the Pacific island of Tinian preparing the atomic bombs “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” for delivery. He played an integral part in assembling the bombs that ended the war, having transferred from the Army to the Army Air Force after suffering extensive hearing loss. The transfer and his UW-Madison background in electrical engineering placed him on the Manhattan Project, where he was assigned to the Army Air Force?s 509th Composite Group, specifically training to deliver the atomic bomb.

Had a coin flipped the other way, Leon Smith would have been on the plane that dropped the atomic bomb ?Little Boy? on Hiroshima.
Smith, who grew up in Wisconsin, was pursuing an electrical engineering degree at the University of Wisconsin when he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1943. When he suffered extensive hearing loss, he applied for a transfer to what was then called the Army Air Forces.

Clara M. Thompson, age 94, passed away on Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012, at Oak Park Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

MADISON – Lloyd H. Bruer, age 85, of Madison, passed away peacefully on Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012, under the care of Agrace HospiceCare. Lloyd worked at Madison Kipp Corp, and then the UW Waisman Center until his retirement in 1992. He took great pride in his 30 years at the Waisman Center and the contributions he was able to make in the facilities research advancement.

FITCHBURG – Professor Henry “Hank” Geitz died at home surrounded by family on Oct. 27, 2012. After earning his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 1961, Hank moved to Virginia and was Assistant Professor of German Literature at the University of Richmond. He came back to Wisconsin and was Assistant and then Associate Professor of German Literature from 1962-1972, Professor of German Literature from 1972-1996, Associate Director of Academic Programs abroad from 1983-1989, and Director of the Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies from 1990-1997, all at the University of Wisconsin. He was the recipient of several honors and awards including Wisconsin?s Outstanding German Educator Award, Medal of the University of Freiburg, and the Verdienstkreuz am Bande des Verdienstrodens der Bundesrepublik, awarded by the President of Germany.

MADISON – Lois Jean Anderson, age 61, of Madison, passed away unexpectedly Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012, at UW Hospital in Madison. She worked for many years as an aide at Central Wisconsin Center caring for developmentally disabled children. After earning her Medical Assistant Certificate, she began working for the UW Animal Health Lab. She retired in August after 30 years of service to the State of Wisconsin.

A University of Wisconsin-Madison historian, who contributed to a well-known, written historical account of the university, died Oct. 23 at the age of 66. As a campus historian until his retirement in 2006, John Jenkins completed many projects including histories of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, School of Medicine and Public Health, and UW Housing. He was best known for his work with E. David Cronon that contributed to the book ?The University of Wisconsin: A History,? which is regarded as ?one of the finest histories of any university in the United States,? according to a UW-Madison news release.

WAUNAKEE – Debra Wilcox Johnson, age 59, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, at Agrace HospiceCare in Fitchburg, on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, after a two-year struggle with lymphoma. Between 1987 and 1993, Debra served on the faculties of the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Illinois, Champaign/Urbana, and of the School of Library and Information Studies at the UW-Madison.

MADISON/CAMBRIDGE – Lois Daron, age 77, died peacefully on Oct. 23, 2012, at Agrace HospiceCare in Madison. Lois spent the majority of her professional career in Madison working at the University of Wisconsin as an LTE in several departments including General Engineering, Sports Medicine, Design Studies, Psychology, Language Institute, UW Transportation Center and Bacteriology. She worked hard for her money, sifting, winnowing, authorizing, adjusting, helping, calculating, expediting, organizing, juggling, reviewing, managing, supporting, correcting, finessing and filing all to help fulfill the University?s mission.

Michael A. Napstad, age 55, of Madison, passed away unexpectedly at his home on Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012. He worked for the University of Wisconsin Physical Plant for over 25 years where he made many lasting friendships for which he was very grateful.

Jim Knox, who spent more than four decades as a faculty member at UW-Madison, died at his home in Madison on Saturday, the university announced. Knox, 70, was the Evjue-Bascom professor emeritus of Geography. Although he retired last year, the university reports he continued to work in Science Hall. Knox?s research focused on the field of fluvial geomorphology, which the university describes as the study of streams and the landforms they produce.

MADISON – Henry passed away Sept. 29, 2012, at the age of 96, after a long life filled with a love of learning and an interest and enthusiasm for many things, which he freely shared. He was a kind, gentle, and private man, in many ways a Renaissance man with eclectic tastes. He worked in construction and for the University of Wisconsin, finishing his career as a conservator-craftsman at the Elvehjem (now Chazen) Museum of Art, where he was very proud to work. While at the Elvehjem, he studied with expert art conservators and taught himself by practicing on paintings he bought at garage sales.

MADISON – Emeritus Professor David E. Schrieber of the School of Business, UW-Madison, died after a full life on Sept. 29, 2012, at St. Mary?s Care Center. In 1964, he joined the UW-Madison School of Business Extension (Management Institute/Executive Education) and rose to full professor and was director of the Human Resource Programs in the Management Institute until his retirement in 1994. At his retirement, he was cited as the 1991 recipient of the Extension Career Award given to honor an individual who sustained outstanding and significant programmatic contributions to the UW System extension function.

MIDDLETON – Mary Kunz Berge, 74, passed away on Friday, Sept. 28, 2012, surrounded by her loving family. Mary was a proud and devoted alumna of the UW-Madison School of Human Ecology having earned a Bachelor of Science degree in textiles and clothing in 1961. She served on the School’s Board of Visitors and was a founding member of the development committee for the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection. In 2004, she was recognized for efforts as chair of the School’s centennial celebration. She had the distinction of being the first Human Ecology alumna to be recognized as a 100 Women Honoree in tribute to her community involvement and commitment to family.

MADISON – Fritz Albert (17 February 1922 – 16 September 2012) died on Sept. 16, 2012, from complications related to living for 90 years.

In 1954 Fritz joined the Ag Journalism staff and stayed at UW the rest of his working life. In addition to Ag Journalism, Fritz worked with UW Extension and the Land Tenure Center ? issues of land ownership reform were very important to him. He eventually made full professor; this and all his promotions were earned entirely with his archetypical work ethic and artistic eye, as he never had the opportunity to pursue degrees beyond his technical school certificate. He was also active in efforts to promote understanding between Germany and the United States and those efforts earned him the Cross of Merit from the Federal Republic of Germany….He had an extraordinarily rich career, making films on every aspect of agriculture from improving cheese production to agrarian reform in Chile. More than 80 of his films are in the University of Wisconsin Bureau of Audio Visual Instruction library.

MADISON – David N. Redell, bat ecologist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, passed away on Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012, at his home in Madison surrounded by his family. Dave devoted his life to the study and conservation of bats; an intriguing and valuable, though often misunderstood, group of animals now facing multiple threats. This passion was ignited when he enrolled at UW-Madison in 1997. Later his graduate work there focused on the behavioral ecology of bats using Neda Mine, the Midwest?s largest bat hibernaculum. After receiving his master?s degree in 2004, David became the first bat ecologist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in the Bureau of Endangered Resources.

A University of Wisconsin-Madison professor emeritus who is known for his work as a documentary filmmaker and photographer has died. Fritz Albert, 90, passed away on Sunday. He joined the faculty of the UW-Madison Department of Agricultural Journalism in 1954, the year he arrived from his native Germany.

Fritz Albert, a UW-Madison professor emeritus known for his documentary filmmaking and photography, died Sunday, according to this university news release. Albert reportedly came to Madison from his native Germany in 1954 and joined the faculty of the Department of Agricultural Journalism (now Life Sciences Communication).

Shabaz was born in Milwaukee and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison before earning his law degree from Marquette University.

MIDDLETON – Duane Clifford Jahnke, 51, was born July 14, 1961, in Lancaster. He died Aug. 28, 2012, in Madison, of pancreatic cancer. In 2007, he closed his successful consulting company and proudly accepted the position of managing senior director of information technology at the University of Wisconsin Foundation in Madison, where he had served as a consultant for the previous 20 years.

James Knickmeyer, an associate dean for administration with UW-Madison?s Graduate School, died on Monday, the university announced in this news release. Knickmeyer, 61, joined the UW-Madison staff as an accountant in 1980. This obituary states he died of a heart attack at home.

MADISON – James F. Knickmeyer, age 61, passed away unexpectedly of a heart attack on Monday, Aug. 27, 2012, at home. Jim worked for UW-Madison for 37 years culminating in his position as Associate Dean for Administration in the Graduate School.

MONONA – Charles Bainbridge Grunow, age 99, passed away peacefully at his home on Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012, at Heritage Assisted Living. Charles worked as an accountant in the UW’s controller’s office in Madison. Later as a member of the administrative budget office, he played a major role in writing instructions for implementing the new computer accounting system used throughout the newly merged UW System.

MADISON – Ben-Tzion ?Bentzi? Karsh, age 40, passed away at his home, after a battle with cancer, on Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012, surrounded by family. Bentzi was a professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering at the University of Wisconsin?Madison.

MADISON – Victor Scherer passed away at home with family at his side on Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012, after a long and courageous battle with leukemia. He continued to work at UW-Madison as a computer consultant for more than 30 years and loved his work and colleagues.

Dr. Charles C. Lobeck Jr. passed away Friday, July 20, 2012, in Green Valley, Ariz., where he had lived with his wife, Isabelle, since 2002. He joined the faculty of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin Medical School in 1958 and served as chairman of the department from 1964 to 1974. He returned to Madison, Wis., in 1984 and served as Professor of Pediatrics and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the medical school. Charles became Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics and Preventive Medicine in 1991.

Noted: Born in Brooklyn on June 21, 1911, Fein graduated from Alexander Meiklejohn?s Experimental College at the University of Wisconsin and later earned a law degree at Brooklyn Law School while working in the publicity and advertising department for Warner Bros. in New York City.

MIDDLETON – Owen Fennema, age 83, of Middleton, passed away due to complications from bladder cancer, surrounded by family on Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, at Agrace HospiceCare. Owen was a professor of food science at the University of Wisconsin?Madison from 1960 until his retirement in 1996. During that time, he served on numerous professional boards and committees, including the American Chemical Society, the Council for Agriculture Science and Technology and the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), for which he served in multiple capacities, including as president from 1982 to 1983. In a lifetime of stellar achievements, Owen was recognized world-wide for the publication of a seminal book for food science scholars, Fennema?s Food Chemistry, published in four editions and multiple languages and which is still in wide use today throughout the world.

MADISON – Fred M. Reames, 71, died peacefully at UW Hospital on Thursday, July 19. He worked for a number of years as a consulting engineer with Donahue and Associates, and then joined the academic staff at UW-Madison, where he did research in Statistics and Space Sciences (Meteorology) and taught undergraduate courses in Mechanical Engineering. He was such a dedicated and popular teacher that his engineering students honored him with eight teaching awards.

A 2008 graduate of UW-Whitewater was among the victims of the mass shooting in Colorado, the university disclosed on its Facebook page. John Larimer, a U.S. Navy sailor who double-majored in political science and history at UW-Whitewater, was from the Chicago suburb of Crystal Lake, Ill. He was 27.

MADISON/ INDIANAPOLIS – Anna Dusick, M.D., neurodevelopmentalist and researcher, passed peacefully surrounded by family and friends following a courageous battle with leukemia at 57 years old on July 9. She most recently served as professor of pediatrics within the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health where she served as division chief for Neurodevelopmental-Behavioral Pediatrics. She held medical practice and was the medical director for the Waisman Center Clinical Program Services. She was in the process of actively growing the clinical services program at the Waisman Center, including establishing the Down Syndrome and Newborn Follow-up Clinics, while continuing her work with the National Institute of Child and Human Development (NICHD) Neonatal Research Network.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has been given an unprecedented opportunity to develop a human resources system specifically tailored to the unique needs of a world-class university.

STOUGHTON – Charles Daniel ?Danny? O?Sullivan, age 75, passed away on Monday, July 16, 2012, at Harmony Living Center. Danny spent his entire career working with student activities in a university environment. He was director of the Hoofer?s Outing Club at UW-Madison, assistant director of the Student Union at West Virginia University and student union director and club sports director at UW-Whitewater. Danny was active in the National Collegiate Ski Association and served as their ski trip coordinator. He served on several committees of the Association of College Unions International including three years as chairman of the National Recreation Committee.

MADISON – Carla M. Phillips passed away peacefully at home in Nakoma on July 7th, 2012, at age 53. After moving from California to Madison with her family in 1998, Carla worked for 11 years as a staff reviewer for the UW-Madison Health Sciences Institutional Review Boards, conducting regulatory reviews for biomedical research. She was an invaluable member of the Health Sciences IRB office and will be deeply missed by all.

PLATTEVILLE – David J. Hitchins, 59, of Platteville, was called home to heaven on Thursday, July 5, 2012, following a four-year battle with cancer. Dave was born on June 9, 1953, in Urbana, Ill. He attended Northern Illinois University and graduated from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. He spent the next 10 years as a project specialist at the UW-Madison Primate Center. Dave finished his career as a chemistry lecturer at UW-Platteville, thoroughly enjoying the students, faculty and research.

MADISON – Dr. Kurt W. Saupe, a gifted athlete and brilliant scientist passed away on Saturday, June 23, after a courageous 4 1/2 year battle with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. While at the university, he was an accomplished academician, most recently holding the position of Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine. Though his lab focused on various areas of cardiovascular and physiological research, he was currently concentrating on two aspects of cardioregenerative medicine: studying the effects of diet and aging on resident progenitor cells in the heart, and a method of transferring therapeutic stem cells to injured myocardium.

FLORENCE, Ala. – Dr. Paul J. Stangel, age 82, of Florence, Ala., passed away peacefully with his wife and six children by his side on Tuesday, June 26, 2012. Paul received his PhD in soils chemistry from the University of Wisconsin, School of Agriculture. Following a distinguished career in agronomy and soils research, first with TVA, then as a professor at the University of Wisconsin, and later with International Minerals Corporation, Paul would go on to help co-found the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), serving first as the organization?s Deputy Director and then as President/Executive Managing Director before his retirement in 1992. From its founding, IFDC has been dedicated to the mission of more effectively feeding the world?s impoverished populations through research and technology ? an effort that Paul worked tirelessly to support throughout his professional life.

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – Mohamed El-Wakil, age 91, a resident of Madison for nearly 60 years, died June 10, 2012, in Walnut Creek, Calif., where he had moved in 2005. He was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1921. He graduated from the University of Cairo in 1943 and was awarded a scholarship in mechanical engineering to study in the U.S. but was not allowed to travel until after World War II. Egypt sent him to the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he earned a Ph.D. in 1949. In 1952, he joined the faculty of UW-Madison. He continued to teach in the Departments of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering until he was 80 with the exception of 4 1/2 years in the 1980s when he served as Chairman of Engineering and Computer Science at American University in Cairo.

UW-Madison researcher Kurt Saupe died Saturday at the age of 50 following a battle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, according to this UW School of Medicine and Public Health news release. I got to know Saupe during the late summer of 2009 and wrote this article about his efforts to battle the disease, which included receiving a new immune system via a stem cell transplant from a donor in May 2008. Although this blood cancer is relatively curable among children, for middle-age adults ALL is extremely rare and very lethal. Saupe also used stem cells in his research, with the university reporting he most recently was working on creating a stem-cell patch for damaged heart tissue -? work that likely will be published posthumously.

Matthew Roelse, who drowned early Friday morning, possessed a sense of adventure and concern for others shaped by his experiences in Boy Scouting, his mother said Monday.

A man who recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison drowned in Lake Mendota on Friday, the school said Saturday in a press release.

Dane County authorities have released the name of the man whose body was recovered from Lake Mendota on Friday morning.

MADISON/ CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Elizabeth Marie “Betty” Dobbratz, age 64, died on the evening of Jan. 18, 2012, in Corpus Christi, Texas after an eight-month battle with brain cancer. Her last weeks and days were spent surrounded by family and friends. Betty worked at CWC (Central Wisconsin Center) and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in administration, retiring in 2002.

MADISON – Josiah Steiner Dilley, age 88, died peacefully in his sleep of cancer on Tuesday, April 24, 2012, surrounded by family in Madison. He worked from 1963-1993 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a professor of counseling psychology, and authored three books: ?Higher Education: Participants Confronted,? ?…And I thought I knew how to Communicate!?, and most recently, ?The Pause that Empowers.?

Patricia Blessing, age 84, passed away on May 25, 2012, with the grace and dignity that characterized her full life.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison and the McFarland School District are mourning the loss of a very talented musician, teacher and friend. Bill Garvey died of cancer early Thursday morning, according to district officials. Garvey recently retired as the director of instrumental music at McFarland High School. He also just finished his 35th season as a field assistant for the UW Band and was also a member of the UW band for four years. He was the tuba section leader.

MADISON – Ruth Nell Robbins, age 88, passed away on Monday, May 21, 2012. From research work on paralytic shellfish poisoning, to laboratory work on vitamin A at WARF, to a 20-year stint at the UW Food Research Institute including research on toxic shock syndrome, she had a long and varied career.

During more than 60 years of existence, Bucky Badger has put smiles on the faces of thousands of University of Wisconsin-Madison fans at athletic contests, hospitals, parades, weddings and many other types of events.

MADISON – Professor emerita Jaya G. Iyer passed away in Madison, on May 2, 2012, at the age of 78. For nearly 40 years she was a compassionate and caring advisor to countless undergraduate students and a much-valued soil science consultant to Midwestern tree nurseries. As a beloved instructor and advisor in soil science she passed on her love of plants, soil, and the vital connections between them. She brought soil biology prominently into the undergraduate curriculum, a topic that now is appreciated as central to the global challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change.

MADISON – Laurence G. Crocker, M.D. passed away in his sleep at home in Madison on Thursday, April 26, 2012. Larry was a skilled and compassionate physician, dedicated to the needs of his patients. Late in his career, Larry returned to the UW as a clinical professor of medicine to share with young doctors his knack for compassionate interaction with patients.

STURGEON BAY – William (Bill) T. Treptow, 70, died at home in Sturgeon Bay on Tuesday, May 1, 2012, with his soul mate and love of his life Judy by his side. He worked at the UW Transportation Department until his retirement.

FITCHBURG – Dr. Charles Douglas Schoenwetter, Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics at University of Wisconsin-Madison, died May 1, 2012, surrounded by his loving family. Chuck was a pediatrician in private practice at Associated Physicians in Madison from 1960 ? 1970. True to his genuine love of children, he moved his family to Washington, DC, to undertake a fellowship in developmental neurology. The family returned to Madison after completion of his fellowship, and Chuck became the director of the Learning and Behavior Clinic at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. He helped children throughout the state reach their full potential based on his wholehearted belief that each child possesses special talents.