Add a Memory
Send Flowers
Make a Donation
Alan Stuart Waggoner
Alan Stuart Waggoner
Obituary
Guest Book
Alan Waggoner Obituary
Publish in a newspaper
Alan's expertise took him on adventures in the Atacama Desert in Chile on a NASA grant to hunt for life in an environment similar to Mars. His love for adventures and the American West took him with his family and friends: golfing, skiing, hiking, backpacking, camping, rock-hounding, photography, and road-tripping. He especially enjoyed the road-trips he took with Karen, his wife of 58 years.
Always the teacher, he continued teaching OSHER courses on the beginning of the universe and the origins of life after his retirement from CMU in 2018. Most importantly, he taught the beauty of nature, the magic of science, and the values of kindness, gentleness, persistence, humor, and love to his family and everyone he touched.
He died peacefully at home surrounded by family on Tuesday May 21.
In addition to Karen, Alan is survived by children Shemariah Little (Waggoner) and Eben Waggoner, grandchildren Melina and Marc Little, and sisters Diana Davies and Teri Nebeker, and of course his beloved cats, Junior and Minnie.
Friends will be Thursday, May 30 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., followed by a service at John A. Freyvogel Sons, Inc. (freyvogelfuneralhome.com) 4900 Centre Avenue at Devonshire Street, Pittsburgh PA 15213.
In lieu of flowers the family requests contributions be made to:
Hospital Albert Schweitzer, PO Box 110091, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, or Pennsylvania Organization for Women in Early Recovery, 907 West St., Second Floor, Pittsburgh PA 15221.
To send flowers
to the family or plant a tree
in memory of Alan Stuart Waggoner, please visit our floral store.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Kathy Muirhead
June 17, 2024
June 16, 2024
Kathy Muirhead
June 16, 2024
Alan’s sense of curiosity, adventure and fun were just as outsized as his talents as a molecule whisperer and inventor of new probes. As an instructor at the Annual Courses in Cytometry from 1982 - 2018, Alan taught me and at least 3 more generations of cytometrists about the art and science of fluorescence even as his molecular creations radically extended the reach of biological questions it could help to answer. Whether it was in the lab, on the deer trail at Bandelier, or hiking up the mountain at Schloss Elmau, Alan's "look what I found, come on, let's explore" glee was infectious. He was a rare and wonderful human being and very special friend. I will miss him very much.
Alex Carpenter
June 16, 2024
Alan's outlook and academic journey was always an inspiration to me. It was truly a pleasure to learn from Alan about photochemistry or life. His stories about switching fields as a young scientist helped me realize that ones' path in learning/life is not always linear and that everyone feels 'in over their head' sometimes (but that it shouldn't stop you!). He was always kind, positive, and extremely passionate about science. The more I work in the field, the more I realize that this kindness, humility, and interest is really what makes a great scientist. He will be missed.
How you can show support
Send flowers
Consider sending flowers.
Add photos
Share their life with photo memories.
Plant trees
Honor them by planting trees in their memory.
Follow this page
Get email updates whenever changes are made.
Donate in Memory
Make a donation in memory of your loved one.
Share this page
Invite other friends and family to visit the page.
Margaret Inokuma
June 4, 2024
Margaret Inokuma
June 4, 2024
Margaret Inokuma
June 4, 2024
Margaret Inokuma
June 4, 2024
Margaret Inokuma
June 4, 2024
Some photos from past Cytometry meetings
Margaret Inokuma
June 4, 2024
I met Alan through the Cytometry courses. His lectures and humor were whip sharp and he was warm and kind. It was an honor to know him. He'll be greatly missed. My condolences to his family.
Philip LeDuc
June 4, 2024
Alan was an absolutely amazing scientist and a fantastic person (the latter is more important to me). I actually used to tell people if you met Alan at the grocery store and introduced him to your family, they would never know that he was a world class scientist as he was so super kind. My prayers are there for him and his family. He will be tremendously missed by me and so many other people. Blessings, Phil.
C. Bruce Bagwell
June 3, 2024
Alan ala "Waggs" was the brother I never had. We met in the early 80´s at one of Paul Horan´s and Kathy Muirhead´s cytometry courses. He was hands down the best speaker I´ve ever heard. His explanations on how light interacts with molecules were so clear that afterwards you felt like you could predict what any chemical compound would do in the presence of light. His wit and humor would quickly engage the audience no matter how tired they were.
We quickly became friends over the years while teaching these courses. We both love the game of golf and would try to sneak out and play as much as we could. We would always get deep into a conversation while playing. I remember one time while playing a course near Sante Fe, we encountered a sandstorm in the middle of our round. We never even acknowledged that the whipping sand was making it difficult to see or breathe, let alone hit a golf ball. After the round was over, the head pro came running up to our sand-caked cart asking if we were OK given the intensity of the sandstorm. We both just smiled and said, "what sandstorm". Afterwards, over a few marguerites at El Paraguay, we would laugh at ourselves and the head pro´s incredulous expression.
Waggs loved the desert. On our day off when teaching at Albuquerque and/or Los Alamos, we would meet up with some of our friends and take long hikes in Bandelier Park. On one occasion, we were walking the trail with Kathy Muirhead and Waggs looks over a cliff of boulders and indicates that he thinks he sees a deer trail along the rocks. He scales down the rocks and sure enough there was indeed a hard-to-see trail there. After much encouragement, Kathy and I joined him on the side of the cliff, and we started to make our way back along the trail. That had to be the coolest hike I´ve ever had.
I don´t have many friends, but Waggs was one. I hate this aspect of life. As you get older you have to deal with the finiteness of life. My heart goes out to Karen, the kids, and the grandkids. We lost one of the good ones. I'll miss you buddy...
C. Bruce Bagwell (ala "Bags")
Dmytro Kolodieznyi
May 30, 2024
Alan showed me that no matter how smart you are, kindness and communication with other people are the most important things in science. I will never forget how much Alan cared and how invested he was in short meetings that we had as a part of my PhD journey.
James (Jake) Jacobberger
May 26, 2024
Condolences to Karen and family. I met Alan through the phone when I was a graduate student at the University of Rochester. He had sent a dye (DiOC1[3]) to Paul Horan who gave it to me to work with. I measured the extinction coefficient to measure concentrations, and that was what we discussed. I think when I met him in person, it was at Schloss Elmau, and he, Paul, Kathy Muirhead, and others hiked up a mountain on an afternoon off. Through the years I had many conversations with Alan at many meetings. The obit characterizes him perfectly - always interested in so many things, persistently curious in a childlike, easygoing way, always kind and gentle. I particularly remember a dinner conversation when the two of us were visiting Bruce Bagwell at the same time. The topics ranged from science, politics, life and death. This will be a sad day for so many.
Judy Yu
May 25, 2024
I met Alan and chose him as my graduate research advisor in my second year as a graduate student in Chemistry Department at CMU. This was one of the best critical choices I made in my life that paved my career. In the next 4 years, I learned a great deal from Alan, not only his deep knowledge in fluorescent dye chemistry, cell biology...but also ways of learning and exploring science. He was so kind and had a great sense of humor. Timid me never felt nervous in front of him. I remember a time when I was doing in situ hybridization to fixed cells using cyanine dye-labeled oligonucleotide, the background staining of the cells was very high. I knew I probably did something wrong but couldn´t figure things out. He lightly joked, saying "my lab must be filled with cyanine dye dust that messed up your experiment". I laughed and relaxed....His famous cyanine dyes that span a full spectrum were used by scholars around the world, helped a great deal in our understanding of cellular biology, advancing DNA sequencing technology, and so much more. Alan will always be remembered as a great scientist, an entrepreneur, a kind and a witty man. May you rest in peace.
Brian Salzberg
May 24, 2024
My deepest condolences to Karen. Alan and I became friends in 1971 when I came to Yale as a postdoc with Larry Cohen. We published seminal papers together more than fifty years ago; I will miss him very much. All my love, Brian
Showing 1 - 16 of 16 results
4900 Centre Avenue at Devonshire Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Make a Donation
in Alan Waggoner's name
People and places connected with Alan
Recent Obituaries
Recent Obituaries
Recent Obituaries
Recent Obituaries
Recent Obituaries
Recent Obituaries
How to support Alan's loved ones
Honor a beloved veteran with a special tribute of ‘Taps’ at the National WWI Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The nightly ceremony in Washington, D.C. will be dedicated in honor of your loved one on the day of your choosing.
Read more
Should I Send Sympathy Flowers?
What kind of arrangement is appropriate, where should you send it, and when should you send an alternative?
Read more
What Should I Write in a Sympathy Card?
We'll help you find the right words to comfort your family member or loved one during this difficult time.
Read moreResources to help you cope with loss
Estate Settlement Guide
If you’re in charge of handling the affairs for a recently deceased loved one, this guide offers a helpful checklist.
Read more
Obituaries, grief & privacy: Legacy’s news editor on NPR podcast
Legacy's Linnea Crowther discusses how families talk about causes of death in the obituaries they write.
Read more
The Five Stages of Grief
They're not a map to follow, but simply a description of what people commonly feel.
Read moreWays to honor Alan Waggoner's life and legacy
Obituary Examples
You may find these well-written obituary examples helpful as you write about your own family.
Read more
Obituary Templates – Customizable Examples and Samples
These free blank templates make writing an obituary faster and easier.
Read more
How Do I Write a Eulogy?
Some basic help and starters when you have to write a tribute to someone you love.
Read more
