Larry Earl Bockstahler

Larry Earl Bockstahler was born May 13, 1934 (on Mother's Day) in La Junta, CO, and passed away June 12, 2026 in Sarasota, FL. Larry was born to Harold W. and Evangeline C. Bockstahler, n. Roath. He attended Grade School in Wooster, OH and St. Paul, MN. Larry graduated from Okemos High School, MI in 1952, where he was valedictorian of his class. In 1956, Larry received a B.S. in Physics with a Mathematics minor from Michigan State University, East Lansing. An Amerika Haus Muenster fellowship support the next year of studies at the University of Muenster, Germany. Larry obtained his M.S. and Ph. D. in Biochemistry with a Physics minor from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1964. His research was on biochemical and biophysical properties of Brome Mosaic Virus (BMV). It during out that BMV was the smallest virus known at the time (1960). So Larry had together with his major professor Paul Kaesberg "15 minutes of fame" to enjoy. Larry conducted postdoctoral research at the Max Planck Institute for Biology, Tubingen Germany from 1964 to 1969 under the sponsorship of the National Institutes of Health and a Humboldt Research Fellowship. Under a lucky star, he met his future wife Rotraut Zimmerman. They were married in 1965 and welcomed a daughter in 1966. Larry spent his successful career of 35 years as a research scientist with the US Food and Drug Administration in Rockville, Maryland. His work concerned laboratory research on issues of detection of viruses, and on medical and radiation-emitting devices in support of FDA's approval processes. Larry presented research results at national and international meetings and published papers in peer reviewed scientific journals. He participated in the development of biological ASTM (US) and DIN (Germany) standards. In his private life, Larry enjoyed playing golf. He was deeply grateful to his parents, who started him with piano lessons at the age of 5. He reached a high level of accomplishment not only on the piano, but also playing harpsichord and organ. Classical music, especially Chopin, was the love of his life which he generously shared with many people. Larry enjoyed attending concerts, operas, and theater performances. He very much loved Rotraut, his daughter Katrin and grandchildren, Rebecca (Joseph Freda) and Ryan O'Connell (Sara Malinowski). He adored his son-in-law Jeffrey Rudge, plus his other relatives and friends. Larry was a very gentle and generous man, loved by his family and friends. He and his great sense of humor will be fondly remembered and missed by all. Larry spent several years writing his autobiography entitled "A Molecular Biologist Enjoys Life". His wife Rotraut and family are very grateful for Larry's giving and generous life. His final resting place will be the Bockstahler grave site at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana. His family suggests donations in his memory may be given to Unitarian Universalists of Sarasota, Black Theatre Troupe, Sarasota; or the University of Wisconsin-Madison Biochemistry Department.