GEORGE J. GASSMANN

1913 - 2020

GASSMANN, George J. Of Donauwörth, Germany, formerly of Lexington, MA, passed away peacefully on Friday, December 25, 2020, at the age of 107. George was born in Hanau, Germany on November 2, 1913 the only child of Heinrich Gassmann and Eva Klein. He received his doctorate degree in physics from the University of Göttingen in 1939. He married Maria Reis in 1942 and, when World War II was over, they moved with their two children in 1952 to Brookline, MA on invitation from the U.S. Government as part of "Operation Paperclip." George worked as a physicist for the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories, which operated out of Hanscom AFB in Bedford, MA. After five years, the family members became US citizens and moved to Lexington, MA. George and his family attended First Parish Church, and both of his children graduated from Lexington High School. George assumed the role of branch chief for ionospheric research, and his team focused on communications that paved the way to current satellite usage. He returned to his native country upon retiring in 1973. He traveled extensively, made occasional visits to family and friends in the US, remained physically active, and played the flute in a local community orchestra. His wife Maria of 55 years predeceased him in 1997, after suffering with Alzheimer's Disease. George spent his last two and a half years in an elder care facility run by a local chapter of the Red Cross. George leaves two children and their spouses: Ursula and Hans Meyer of Donauwörth, Germany and Bertwin Gassmann and Elizabeth Rozan of Lexington, MA, along with four grandchildren and their spouses/partners: Kirsten Leeanne and Michael Walter and Jan Douglas Walter and Hanna Janetzke of Germany, Max Gassmann and Mara Goldwyn of the U.S., currently living in Germany, and Milena and Kevin Veno of Woburn, MA. He also leaves a number of great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. George encouraged awareness of the realities of life, and persistence to triumph over the negative. He used his sense of humor and appreciation for nature, beauty, art and music to find truth and goodness in the world. A memorial service may be planned after the new year. Donations in his memory can be made to the American Red Cross.

View the online memorial for George J. GASSMANN