Karl George Wassmann, Jr.

Karl George Wassmann, Jr., 96

Karl George Wassmann, Jr. of Saint Louis, Missouri died peacefully on January 1, 2021, one week after his 96th birthday. He will be missed dearly by his family and friends, and was most grateful to the caregivers at Fountains of West County, who kept a smile on his face during the troubling pandemic year of 2020.

Karl was born December 26, 1924 to Gladys Harper Wassmann and Karl George Wassmann, Sr. in Washington, D.C.  Gladys ran the office of Gifford Pinchot who was elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 1930, resulting in the family moving to Harrisburg in 1931. Karl Sr., a lawyer, became chief of the state's department for disabled veterans.

An only child, the family frequently traveled back to Washington and Maryland, enjoying time with his many cousins. Karl saw his Easters on the White House lawn, summers at Mast Cove Camp in Piscataquis, Maine, and fall, winter and spring exploring the rivers and forests of Pennsylvania with friends, including holidays at the Pinchot family home in Milford, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Camp Hill High School in June 1942, where he participated in tennis, football and track.

Karl attended Bethany College in West Virginia majoring in Chemistry in the fall of 1942, but joined the Army Air Corps on December 23, 1943. After extensive training, he qualified as an aircraft electrical mechanic maintaining B-29 bombers. He was stationed first on Guam and later at the air force base on Tinian in the Mariana Islands, where he helped return flight crews stateside after the war.

He was discharged in April 1946 and returned to Bethany College; he changed his major to Business Administration and graduated in June 1948.  There he met Dorothea Furber from St. Petersburg, Florida, a Chemistry major who followed up with a degree in Library Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Wedding bells rang at the Central Christian Church in Pittsburgh for Dorothea and Karl on September 4, 1948, the start of a 64-year marriage. Karl was initially employed at Koppers Company as a purchasing agent. He later spent 33 years at Crucible Industries, maker of specialty steels, turning the lights off when the Midland mill closed in 1982. He enjoyed his final years in Pittsburgh working for Glenshaw Glass, a family-owned bottle glass company.

Dorothea and Karl had four children and raised them in Mars, Pennsylvania. Over the years, Karl passed on his skills in electronics, photography, baseball and tennis. Karl also attended night school at the University of Pittsburgh, graduating in June 1961 with a degree in Civil Engineering. The couple later enjoyed summers with their first grandchildren in upstate Chautauqua, New York.

Karl and Dorothea retired to Clermont, Florida in August 1987.  During their 25-year residence in Clermont, they were members of The First Methodist Church.  They traveled extensively throughout Canada and the United States, enjoying National Parks and Presidential Libraries alike. They also traveled to New Zealand, Australia and Great Britain.  Karl maintained his keen interest in physics and astronomy, as well as his love of jazz and big band music.

Dorothea was diagnosed with cancer in June 2012, which brought them to Saint Louis for treatment in October 2012. She died later that year.

Karl was preceded in death by his wife Dorothea Furber Wassmann and granddaughter Wendy Feezel Sieber.  He is survived by his daughter Susan Feezel (Richard), Pittsfield, Illinois; and three sons, Karl Wassmann III (Pam), Dover, Massachusetts; Kirk Wassmann (Betsy), Leeds, Massachusetts; and Jeffrey Wassmann (Melinda), Melbourne, Australia; as well as 10 grandchildren, Brian Feezel (Robyn); Kate Smith and Karl Wassmann (Rachel); Faith (Justin), Nathanael, Martha (Joakim) and Libby (Dan) Wassmann; and Isabel, Sam and Sophie Wassmann; and six great-grandchildren, Graham Feezel; Draco Smith; Per Roussell; and Martha, Ezra and Imogen Wassmann-Rattelle.

Services are   1:30 Friday, January 22, 2020  at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery through Ambruster Chapel, Saint Louis, Missouri

Memorial:  They support Meals on Wheels in Clermont, Florida.

 By Mail: Lake County Senior Services Meals on Wheels, 1211 Penn Street, Leesburg, Florida 34748