SIEGFRIED GERSTL Aug. 5, 1939 – Oct. 17, 2020
Siegfried Gerstl, husband of 50 years, father, father-in-law, Opa, fraternity brother, and friend, died peacefully on Oct. 17, 2020, from pulmonary fibrosis in Biberach, Germany. He was 81.
Sig was born Aug. 5, 1939, in Germany near Stuttgart as the youngest of four brothers. His Bavarian/Swabian roots gave him a healthy self-confidence and a spirit of adventure, as well as diligence, thriftiness and a strong sense of family.
After graduating from business high school in Esslingen and Technical University in Stuttgart, he received his doctorate in theoretical physics from the University of Karlsruhe, specialising in radiation transport. After publishing an attention grabbing article in ‘Der Spiegel’ (the equivalent of Newsweek or Time magazines) in part expressing his aversion to bureaucracy, he left his beloved home country for America in 1968 where more freedoms awaited him. He began his US career at Westinghouse in Pittsburgh, PA, on radiation shielding of nuclear reactors.
In 1967 Sig met Andrea at a ski lodge in Austria (he skied Pajarito Mountain into his 70s!). His charm and many letters convinced her to join him in America, and Oct.10,1970, they married in Charlottesville, VA. From Westinghouse in Pennsylvania, his career took him to Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago, IL, followed by Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM, in 1975, which became home for the next 46 years.
Sig spent the rest of his interesting and productive scientific career at LANL. He did a lot of research and touched very interesting areas, from reactor shielding, satellite remote sensing, extinction of the dinosaurs, to using halos to learn about vegetation. Sig had two sabbatical years – one at Max Planck Institute near Munich, Germany, and one at the Joint Research Center in Ispra, northern Italy.
Sig was very adventurous, sometimes a little generous with the interpretation of rules, was not afraid to take risks, and made the best of every situation. He and Andrea built a house overlooking Deer Trap Mesa and the Sangre de Christo mountains where they enjoyed sunsets “in the East”. They hosted many fascinating discussions with friends and visiting scientists, Hans Bethe and Carl-Friedrich von Weizsaecker among others.
For a theoretical physicist Sig was extremely practical. He did a lot of repairs to the house himself and liked working on his cars. He thoroughly enjoyed his feathered friends and served up gallons of sugar water to ‘his’ hummingbirds. In his retirement, Sig & Andrea shared their time between Los Alamos, NM, and Biberach, Germany.
He passed on his love for science and technology, optimism, practicality, and enjoyment of nature to his children Susi and Stephan. Many lifelong friendships began and developed in his German Wingolf fraternity; he enjoyed discussing, celebrating, and singing with his brothers!
He is survived by his wife, daughter and son with spouses, and was Opa to 3 grandsons. Siggi was a great guy with a lot of heart and soul! As Jay Dee Conrad wrote, “we are reminded of the words in Ecclesiastes that everything has a time … a time to be born and a time to die. For Siggi that time had come and I suspect he approached it with curiosity, wonder and a scientific inquisitiveness as to what might be next. Now perhaps he knows.”
His family requests donations in lieu of flowers be made to The United Church of Los Alamos in memory of Sig Gerstl.
A small memorial service was held November 6th, 2020, in Biberach, Germany.
