November 12, 2004
Thirty-three-year veteran of the Department of Physics dies
Brother Francis (Frank) J. Riedinger, a 33-year veteran of the Department of Physics, died in September. He was 89.
Riedinger served as a laboratory technician on and off from 1959 to 2003. During these so-called off periods, Riedinger was involved in missions in the Caroline Islands, especially Truk Island (now called Chuuk) where he successfully renovated the ship "Star of the Sea." He put his expertise in electronics to work in Fremont, Calif., where he repaired radio equipment and collected and sold metal to raise more than $20,000 for mission work.
Riedinger was born in Rotenfels, Baden, in Germany. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1946. Brother Terence N. Todd, S.J., a technician in the physics department, offered words at Riedinger's funeral mass. He told heartwarming stories of his departed friend's love and knowledge, both he shared in abundance. But mostly, Todd remembered that "kindness and gentleness permeated his days and his life."
