Conrad William de Fiebre

de FIEBRE Conrad William de Fiebre, Ph.D., 88, died January 26, 2012, at Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus. He had lived in the Columbus area since 1969, most recently at Friendship Village of Dublin. He was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Jan. 19, 1924 to Conrad William de Fiebre Sr. and Barbara Benisch de Fiebre. He grew up in New York, Rhode Island and Connecticut and served honorably as an enlistee in the U.S. Army during World War II in France and the Philippines. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an M.S. and Ph.D. in bacteriology and organic chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He married Harriet Magdalene Hamm on Oct. 26, 1946. They lived in Troy, N.Y.; Madison, Wis.; Wilmington, Del., Hinsdale, Ill., Worthington and Dublin. They also enjoyed many winters in Fort Pierce, Fla. He joined the former Ross Laboratories (now Abbott Nutrition) in Columbus in 1969 as director and then vice president of research and development. He led development of the adult nutritional supplement Ensure. He was a key negotiator for Abbott Laboratories in building a turnkey infant formula plant in the former Soviet Union. In addition, he was chairman of the trade association Infant Formula Council (now International Formula Council) from 1976-78 and 1981-85. He had a long involvement with the Ohio State University Department of Food Science and Nutrition, from which he received the Award of Merit in 1981. He retired from Ross in 1985, after which he volunteered for 15 months as acting director of the Food Industries Center at Ohio State University and chaired the committee to find a permanent director for the Center. Among many community activities, he served on the board of Goodwill Industries/Central Ohio Rehabilitation Center and was chairman from 1985-87. He was a founding member of St. Peter Catholic Parish of Columbus. He was preceded in death by his wife Harriet, after more than 52 years of marriage as well his parents and a brother Raymond, who died in infancy. Survivors are six sons, Conrad (Dianne O'Donnell) of Minneapolis, Minn.; Henry (Karen Rothe) of Naples, Fla.; Jeremy (Jennifer) of North Branch, Minn.; Timothy (Dorothy Cosonas) of New York, N.Y.; David (Pamela) of Lake Oswego, Ore.; and Christopher (NancyEllen) of Upper St. Clair, Pa.; eight grandchildren, one great-grandson and three step-grandchildren. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held 10 a.m. Friday February 3rd at St. Peter Catholic Church, 6899 Smoky Row Rd, Columbus, OH 43235 after which a short service will be held at Resurrection Cemetery, 9571 N. High St., Route 23 North, Lewis Center, OH 43035. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Goodwill Columbus (www.goodwillcolumbus.org). Online condolences may be shared with the family at www.egan-ryan.com.