Jerry F. Janssen, age 77, of Appleton passed away on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014 at the Appleton Healthcare Center. He was born on March 22, 1936 in the town of Mason City, Iowa to parents William Henry and Ermina (Simmons) Janssen. On June 8,1958, he married Ruth Fritschel in Iowa. As a young man, he attended Iowa State TeachersÂ' College (later the University of Northern Iowa) where he received his Bachelors Degree in Chemistry and Masters Degree in Science Education. He went on to attend Michigan State University where he earned his PhD in Chemistry.
He taught at Michigan State University as a graduate student. Upon receiving his PhD, he taught at Antioch College (Yellow Springs, Ohio) and later Eisenhower College (Seneca Falls, NY). He then left academia to work industry for GTE Sylvania. While at Sylvania, he attended Suffolk University Law School in Boston and earned his law degree, which he then used as a Chemical Patent Attorney for GTE Sylvania. While living in Massachusetts, he was a member of the Acton Minutemen, a historical fife and drum corps. He then divorced, moved to the Midwest and met and married Carol Leybourn on May 26, 1984. He has served as a patent attorney at Parke-Davis then Warner Lambert in Ann Arbor, BASF in Detroit, Abbott Laboratories in north Chicago, Eli Lilly in Indianapolis, and Wilhelm Law Services in Appleton. He has over 300 patents in his name.
He was a member of First Presbyterian Church in Neenah. He was an avid fan of science fiction literature, Sherlock Holmes literature and trivia, and enjoyed singing and playing percussion.
He is survived by his wife Carol Leybourn Janssen, his daughter Susan Janssen Creighton (Doug Creighton) of Greenfield, MA; son Eric Janssen of Northampton, MA; step-sons James Kenney of Ann Arbor, MI; Paul Kenney of Portland, OR; Matthew Kenney (Heidi Westermark Kenney) of Madison, WI; step-daughter Laura Kenney Henckel (Mike Henckel) of Appleton, WI; grandchildren Evan and Alison Janssen; Kayla and Dylan Schang; Nolan Henckel; Amber and Christopher Kenney; Margaux Kenney; and Ava and Katarina Kenney.
He was preceded in death by his brothers Roger, Gordon and James (Jim).
A private family memorial service will be held on Sunday February 9, 2014 at 1:00 p.m.with Reverend Paul Huxtable officiating. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Carol Leybourn Chamber Music Scholarship Fund at the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, P.O. Box 563, Appleton, WI 54912.