Walter Carl Henneberger

CARBONDALE - Walter Carl Henneberger, 95, passed away Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at his home.

Walter was born on Jan. 17, 1930, to Peter and Gertrude (Link) Henneberger in Bradley. He married Gerlinde Emma Gleissner on Aug. 17, 1967, in Bad Neustadt/Saale, Germany. She preceded him in death.

Walter is survived by his sister, Eleanor McCormick of the Phoenix, Arizona area; his children Petra (Jean) Utke of Lisle, Bernard Henneberger of Carbondale; grandchildren, Eva Utke and Lukas Utke; and nieces and nephews, Karen (Scott) Giles of Goodyear, Arizona; Ed (Sue) McCormick of Frankfurt and Peter McCormick and Andy (Laura) McCormick of Fayetteville, Georgia.

Walter and Gerlinde were married for 56 wonderful years and traveled the world together. Walter was drafted in the U.S. Army during the Korean War while attending Purdue University. On the GI bill, he later earned his Ph.D. at the University of Goettingen in Germany. He was a professor at several universities, including Fordham University in New York, the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies in Ireland, and University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

He settled down at SIUC in 1963 where he felt he could work with freedom. In 1968 he published a paper suggesting that an electron could be freed from an atom and bound to it at the same time, with the help of super-intense lasers. His theoretical conception of this atom state was recently proven to be correct experimentally and is referred to as the Kramers-Henneberger (KH) atom. He was a professor at SIUC for over 30 years. After he retired, he collected and repaired clocks as a hobby.

A Funeral Mass will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 24, in St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, with Robert Flannery officiating. A reception will follow the mass. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, May 23, at Meredith Funeral Home. Rosary will take place at 7:45 p.m. Friday at the funeral home, and at 9:45 a.m. Saturday before the mass.

For those who cannot attend the service on Saturday, the service will be livestreamed through the funeral home website, www.meredithfh.com.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Andrew School in Murphysboro.

Meredith Funeral Home in Carbondale is assisting the family with arrangements. To leave a story or memory of Walter, visit www.meredithfh.com.