William Fry

William (Jack) F. Fry

Madison, WI

Professor Emeritus William F. (Jack) Fry, passed away at his home in Madison, Wisconsin on July 18, 2011 at 8:45 p.m. He was preceded in death by his parents, Will and Flossie Fry, brother Perry, wife Sigrid, and son David Fry. He is survived by his wife Audrey, brothers John (Janie) Fry, Springfield, OR, Harry (Phyllis) Fry, Orrville, OH, daughter, Diane (Mark) Siegel, Atlanta, GA, step-daughter, Catherine Woodward (Joe Meisel), Madison, WI, and step-sons Erik and Leif Tesdell, Des Moines, IA. Jack was born December 16, 1921 at the family farm on Scotch Ridge, south of Carlisle, Iowa. He graduated from Carlisle High School in 1939, and from Iowa State University with a B.S. in electrical engineering in 1943, followed by graduate work at George Washington University, Washington, D. C. He received his Ph.D. in physics from Iowa State University in 1951 and was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Chicago 1951 to 1952. During World War II he was a commissioned naval officer, stationed at the Naval Research Laboratories in Washington, D.C., where he led the research on jamming devices for guided missiles. Then on to the White Sands, New Mexico rocket site, where he was in charge of researching German V-2 rockets. Dr. Fry was Professor of Physics at the University of Wisconsin from 1952 to 1998. He was an experimental high energy physicist at the University and pioneered the astrophysics program. He also established physics programs at the University of Padova and Milan University in Italy in 1957. He was a Guggenheim Scholar and Fulbright Lecturer and served as a consultant to the International Atomic Energy Commission. He spent over four decades in violin acoustical research, uncovering the secrets of Stradivarius. His accomplishments in violin research are recognized in books and film, and are detailed in a scientific video book he completed last year. Jack was an avid historian who collected Italian manuscripts from the 12th century through the Fascist period during his extensive travels in Italy. He donated over 40,000 books and documents to the University of Wisconsin library, making the largest collection of Italian Fascist-era documents available to scholars worldwide. He was a man with an astonishing range of interests and passionate curiosity, and his many accomplishments too numerous to mention here. Jack always remained modest to a fault, and was a dignified, generous, and fine friend to all who knew him.

Services will be held Saturday, July 23, 2011 at the Carlisle Christian Church in Carlisle, IA. Family and friends may call from noon to 1 p.m, and the service will begin at 1 p.m. He will be buried in the Fry family plot at the Carlisle Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be donated to the American Cancer Society in his name.