John J. Uhran Jr.

Mass of Christian Burial Livestream Link: https://basilica.nd.edu/sacraments/funerals/funerals-livestream/
John J. Uhran, Jr. died October 2nd, 2023, at the age of 87 at home with his family by his side. He was born on December 1st, 1935, and raised in Queens, New York to John J. Uhran, Sr and Lucille Coogan Uhran who proceeded him in death as did his brother Dr. George M. Uhran. On July 2nd, 1966, he married his loving wife, Sue, who survives along with his children, John R. (Theresa), Michael N. (Kathleen O'Connor) and Anna (William) Wasierski as well as eight grandchildren: Megan, Christopher, Gavin, Joshua, Abigail, Sarah, Sean and Katelyn. He also leaves his sister-in-law, Alberta Uhran, 3 nieces and 1 nephew. John attended St. Michaels Grade School, All Hallows High School, and Manhattan College earning a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1957. He worked at Hazeltine Corporation on Long Island for 4 years before moving to West Lafayette, Indiana to pursue a Master's and PhD in Electrical Engineering at Purdue University.
John had four main focuses in his life: his family, his faith, academics, and farming.
John's family was most important to him. He found great joy in watching his children and grandchildren grow up and taking part in their lives. He spent time reading to them when they were small, watching one of their ballgames or discussing their life's plans. Each occasion was fascinating and enjoyable. For several summers John took jobs near the Atlantic Ocean where he taught his children the joy of swimming in the ocean, learning the history of our country at historical sites and camping in the mountains. When his sons joined scouting, he became involved as a leader at various levels ending up as Scout Master at St. Joseph Parish. Travel was another great love. While attending conferences in Europe, John developed a great interest in visiting other countries. Sue and John traveled across Europe and to China. They had opportunities to visit with relatives they had only heard about, connecting John and Sue each with homes and homelands of their ancestors.
Because of his Mother, John developed a devotion to the Blessed Mother, always carrying a rosary in his car. He was an active member of St. Joseph Parish where he ran the Athletic Committee for several years at the school, was an usher, served on the St. Joseph Parish Council, Administration Committee and Building and Grounds Committee as well as co-chaired one of the parish Capital Campaigns. Outside of St. Joseph Parish he served on the St. Joseph High School Board of Education, the Area Neighborhood Council and the Committee on Zoning laws and volunteered at St. Vincent de Paul Society pantry.
John started his academic career at the University of Notre Dame as Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering (EE) in the Fall of 1966. Soon after, he was promoted to full Professor of EE and was instrumental in the formation of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. He continued his professorships and retired as Senior Associate Dean of Engineering in 2008.
John developed a love for teaching as a graduate student at Purdue University when he was offered a position as a Graduate Teaching Assistant and then as Instructor for which he was awarded Tau Beta Pi Most Valuable Instructor Award. During his academic years he was awarded numerous other honors such as Outstanding Engineering Graduate Award from Manhattan College Centennial, 1993. ASEE Fluke Corporation Award for excellence in laboratory instruction, 1998 and The Notre Dame Presidential Award in 2007.
John was a member of several professional and honor societies such as Sigma XI, Eta Kappa Nu, Sigma Pi Epsilon and Tau Beta Pi, ASEE (American Society of Engineering Educators) and a lifetime member of IEEE (institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) and Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).
During his time at Notre Dame, he spent some summers working as a visiting scientist at M.I.T. Labs, was on the Technical Staff and Consultant at Bell Labs, Bendix Aerospace and Missile Division, at Wheelabrator-Frye, Whirlpool Corp, MIT and on the NASA-ASEE Design Team at Langley AFB.
At Notre Dame he guided many students in research projects resulting in degrees at all levels. The supported grants and solicited equipment acquired showed his interest in developing bright, well-prepared engineers. As Associate Dean he counseled numerous students, helping them to persevere through difficulties to see and reach their true potential and a Notre Dame degree. Seeing the benefits of foreign study for engineers, he developed programs in Dublin, Ireland, and Cambridge, UK and as well as encouraged many engineering students to attend the Summer London Program. Eventually he focused more and more on engineering education.
While Associate Dean of Engineering, he chaired a committee to make first year engineering more relevant for the engineering student at ND. He went on to start a conference on first-year engineering education called FYEE (First Year Engineering Education). It involved colleagues across the country, and it grew year by year to several hundred faculty and professionals. The main purpose of this meeting was to share ideas with others. John served in many areas of ASEE including being a Board member and several years the zone chairman. He was the organizer and chairman of many conference sessions. The highlight of his ASEE career was becoming a Fellow of ASEE. He also was active in (ABET) Accreditation Board for over 30 years.
Over the course of his years at ND he chaired or served on many University and College Committees such as Collegiate Procedures, Admissions, Scholarship, Internal Reviews, and several student review boards. John was also secretary of the College Council for many years. During his career he taught over 20 different courses.
John's last love was farming. John spent the first 25 years of his life in an apartment, but he was always drawn to the country. At an early age he had his father take him around to look at possible properties. When we bought The Happy Apple Farm,complete with a tractor, he was elated. Acquiring some bee supers and a queen bee, he was ready to go. He immediately planted fruit trees, turned the sod for a vegetable garden and had some repairs done on the 1910 little house. For 45 years the farm was his retreat. His children learned to drive the tractor, to plant Christmas trees and do whatever chores that needed to be done. In his spare time, John collected stamps and children's literature of the early nineteen hundreds. In recent years he renewed his interest in genealogy.
Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Monday October 9th at 9:30am on the campus of the University of Notre Dame, followed by burial at Cedar Grove Cemetery, Notre Dame, Indiana. Friends may visit with the family from 5-8pm, on Sunday October 8th, at Kaniewski Funeral Home, 3545 N. Bendix Drive, South Bend, Indiana where a rosary will be prayed at 7:00pm.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to St. Vincent de Paul, 520 Cresent Ave., South Bend IN 46617, Women's Care Center, 360 N. Notre Dame Ave. South Bend IN 46617 or Hannah's House, Care of: Development Office, 518 W. 4th Street, Mishawaka, IN 46544.
You may leave condolences for the family at www.kaniewski.com
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