Gene Henry Haertling

Dr. Gene Henry Haertling, March 15, 1932 - October 5, 2026Gene Henry Haertling died on October 5, 2026, in Albuquerque, NM. A funeral service for Gene will take place at Grace Lutheran Church on October 11, 2026, at 4 pm. He will be buried in at Holy Cross Cemetery in Ste. Genevieve, MO. Gene was born March 15, 1932, in Old Appleton, MO to Herbert and Dorothy Haertling. He was baptized into the name of the Holy Trinity on April 10, 1932. Gene's siblings included Herbert, Nadine, Charles, Dorothy, and Daniel. Gene married Lois, nee Klein, in 1958 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Grand Island, NE. He is survived by his wife and their three children: Mark (Elizabeth) Haertling, Barbara (Michael) Schotte, and Carol (Craig Carmer) Haertling; eight grandchildren: Stephanie Haertling, Rebecca Stoneway, Steven Haertling, Christine Grimmer, Catherine Goldenstein, Jonathan Schotte, David Schotte, and Samuel Carmer; twelve beloved great-grandchildren, and many beloved nieces and nephews. Gene spent early years working on a farm and building homes with his brothers to earn funds for college. Gene earned a B.S. from the University of Missouri-Rolla (1954), and a M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois (1961), all in ceramic engineering. Gene served in the U.S. Army 1955-1957, learning electronics for missile guidance systems and sharing his musical skills on the cornet trumpet. Gene moved to Albuquerque in 1961 to work at Sandia National Laboratory. In 1973, Gene started a company, Opto-Ceram Inc., based on his inventions in electrooptic ceramics. The company was purchased by Motorola Inc. and Gene became a Vice-President of R&D at a facility subsequently built in Albuquerque, NM. In 1987, Gene became a university professor, both at University of Missouri-Rolla and at Clemson University. Gene and Lois retired to Albuquerque where he enjoyed tennis, painting, organizing Flag Day badminton tournaments for his family, and numerous other hobbies. Gene was a a member of the National Academy of Engineering, Fellows in both the American Ceramic Society and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, and a lifetime-distinguished member of the American Ceramic Society. He was nominated for the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor, received a NASA Public Service Medal and an R&D 100 Award, and served on the Board of Regents for Concordia University-Irvine CA, among other honors. Gene, along with his wife Lois, was a founding member of Grace Lutheran Church in Albuquerque and was instrumental to the build of several Missouri Synod Lutheran churches. To his family, Gene was a creative, clever, often witty, and deeply loved husband, father, and grandfather. Gene's accomplishments were numerous, but he recognized that only God's grace through Christ's redemptive work is our worth. He often quoted "Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross, I cling."