Gerald Katzin

1932 - 2020

Gerald Katzin
August 2, 1932 - December 14, 2020
Raleigh, North Carolina - Jerry Katzin died on Monday evening, December 14, alone in a COVID-19 ICU ward, accompanied only by the ventilator tube that was delivering oxygen to his lungs. He was not surrounded by his loving wife of 62 years, Judy Katzin; his loving children, daughter Betsy Katzin (Jim Comen) of Raleigh and Larry R. Katzin (Jim Grimes) of Denver, Colorado; his loving grandchildren, Carson Merenbloom, Benjamin Merenbloom, and Noah Merenbloom of Raleigh, and Julia Katzin of Denver; or his loving brother, Larry F. Katzin (Linda Scher) of Raleigh. He deserved better.
Jerry was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the first of two sons to Nathan Katzin and Bertha Kolodny Katzin. He was raised in Winston-Salem, Miami Beach, and Jacksonville, NC, and graduated from Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem in 1950. He went on to college at North Carolina State University, stayed at NC State to get his Ph.D. in Physics, then joined the Physics faculty at NC State, where he rose through the ranks to become a full professor and where he taught until his retirement. He was a brilliant theoretical physicist who especially loved engaging in research and talking physics and science. His most noted work was in the area of curvature collineations.
As a child of the Great Depression, he hated to throw anything away. "You never know when it'll come in use" was a frequent refrain, and his collection included an assortment of old vacuum cleaners, toasters, pill bottles, jar lids and garden hoses – among many other things – to be ready for that possibility. Our favorite was the box labeled "strings too short to save."
Jerry was always an avid and social exerciser. Into his 50s, he regularly jogged the outer track at Carroll Middle School (then known as Carroll Junior High), where he formed a large circle of acquaintances with the other regulars. When his bad back ended his jogging career, he became an avid walker on the Raleigh Greenway, around Shelley Lake and downstream on the Mine Creek trail. Once again, he made a number of social acquaintances there, where he was sometimes called the "Mayor of the Greenway." In addition to his cardio, he did various forms of weight lifting and stretching his entire adult life.
Jerry took great pride in his children and grandchildren, and reveled in their academic and career accomplishments. He broke into tears of joy when recounting that his eldest grandson had been admitted to UNC Medical School. He loved when he had the opportunity to tutor them in math or physics. He loved that Judy cooked big dinners every Sunday night and invited the family over to eat, and enjoyed getting together regularly with the family for birthday and holiday celebrations.
In his younger days, Jerry was an avid water skier. He and Judy owned a ski boat (that Judy won by writing a jingle for a contest), and they enjoyed taking it out on weekends with friends and family.
Once the immediate family is cleared to leave quarantine, they will gather for a private graveside service at Hebrew Cemetery in Raleigh. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Jerry's memory to the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, acluofnorthcarolina.org. Virtual shiva minyan links will be shared at a later date.