Fred Bassett Hagedorn, 91, of Orlando, FL died Oct. 1 after a long illness. He grew up on a Jefferson, Iowa farm, was valedictorian of his high school class, and after 18 months in the U.S. Army, 82nd Airborne Division, he entered Iowa State College. A physics major, Fred continued his education at the California Institute of Technology. Although his PhD from Cal Tech was in nuclear physics, for most of his career he worked in applied magnetics, at Bell Laboratories (1957-1985) in Murray Hill, N.J., and at Parks Jaggers Aerospace, Westinghouse, and Northrop Grumman in Orlando until 1998. He then volunteered at a friend’s start-up business for several years.

Fred was a fellow of the American Physical Society, a member of Sigma Xi and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a life fellow of the IEEE, and winner of an IEEE Centennial Medal and the Magnetics Society Achievement Award.

While living in Berkeley Heights, NJ, Fred served on the local planning board and the regional high school board of education.
Fred and his wife Grace had two daughters who grew up in Berkeley Heights, Katherine (deceased) and Martha. Other survivors include sons-in-law Terry Ryan and Christopher Krass, grandchildren Jenifer Krass and Gabriel Hagedorn, and brother Harry Hagedorn (Rosemary). Deceased siblings were Homer Hagedorn (Pat) and Dorothy Knickel.

Visitation is October 26, 2019 from 1pm to 2pm with funeral service starting at 2pm at Penwell-Gabel Funeral Home in Topeka, KS and may be viewed online at www.penwellgabeltopeka.com.

Interment with military honors to follow at Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Berryton, KS

Donations in Fred’s memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave., Fl 17, Chicago, IL 60601 or to Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, 34 Washington St., Suite 310, Wellesley Hills, MA 02481 or the charity of your choice.

To share your memories of Fred or leave a special condolence message for his family, please click the Share Memories button above.