Fred Kramer Wohn (1940-2019)

WOHN, COFFEY, KRAMER, ROBICHAUX, AASLESTAD, WILLIAMS

Posted By: Mark Christian
Date: 5/17/2021 at 16:53:12

Obituary From Adams Soderstrum Funeral Home, Story County, Iowa.

Fred Wohn
October 19, 1940 - November 5, 2019

Fred Kramer Wohn, 79, of Ames passed away peacefully Tuesday November 5,, 2019 after kidney failure from an infection.

Fred was born in Texas and raised in Franklin, Louisiana. An eager student and fast learner, he enjoyed scouting, rifle hunting, and target shooting with a bow and arrow, which he learned from his beloved Grandfather. Fred received a BS in Physics at LSU, taking occasional breaks to shoot pool. He obtained his PhD in Nuclear Physics at Indiana University in Bloomington, where he met Doris, his future wife and the love of his life. They married in 1964 and moved to Ames, starting a family shortly thereafter. Fred joined Iowa State University, where worked his way up from a postdoc to Full Professor. In 1976, Fred was a recipient of a research grant from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. This led to a one-year sabbatical in Giessen, Germany, where he and his family enjoyed traveling around Europe.

Throughout his professional life, Fred enjoyed his career. He was passionate about physics, and excelled at mentoring students, teaching entry-level through graduate courses. He also embraced research and participated in various projects, spending two summers working at Brookhaven National Lab (BNL) on Long Island on the TRISTAN project and one summer at the Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico. He was instrumental in the evolution of ISU’s Nuclear Physics Program, most recently working on the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at BNL.

Fred enjoyed traveling, reading, yard work, hiking, and cheering on the LSU Tigers and ISU Cyclones. Months before planning to take early retirement in 1999, Fred was struck with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which severely limited his physical capabilities. He overcame significant challenges, focusing on the positive and concentrating on what he could do. This included reading books about science and religion and writing online reviews, discussing books and current events with friends, participating in study groups at the Collegiate United Methodist church, and maintaining his corny sense of humor. Fred’s endurance, perseverance, and faith were in inspiration to many; he will be sorely missed.

Fred was preceded in death by his wife Doris Jean (Coffey) Wohn, his parents, Nellie Mae Kramer and Fred Kramer Wohn (whom he lost at an early age), Pete and Emsy Robichaux (his aunt and uncle who raised him), his sister Barbara Nell Aaslestad, and his brother Robert James Wohn. He is survived by his daughter Jennifer Anne Williams (husband Mark), his son Steve Frederick Wohn, and 19 nieces and nephews.

A celebration of life will be held Monday November 11, 2019 at 10:00 am at the Collegiate United Methodist Church in Ames, with a lunch following. In lieu of gifts, please make donations to the Appalachian Service Project (www.asphome.org) or Heifer International (www.heifer.org).

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