E.F. Schoenbrunn, chemical engineer

Erwin Frederick Schoenbrunn of Ridgefield, a chemical engineer and church leader, died at his home on Tuesday morning, Jan. 18, 2005. He was 83 years old and the husband of Dorothy Rinehart Schoenbrunn.

Mr. Schoenbrunn was born in Newark, N.J., on July 15, 1921, son of the late Erwin O. and Katherine Stetter Schoenbrunn. He grew up in Newark and in his early teens, moved with his family to Plainfield where he attended schools. He was a member of the Class of 1944 at Princeton University where he received a bachelor of science in engineering and he earned a master’s in chemical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1949.

Mr. Schoenbrunn was a World War II U.S. Army veteran, serving in the Signal Corps. Eighteen months of his three-year tour of duty were spent in the Philippines.

Mr. Schoenbrunn moved from Needham, Mass., to Ridgefield in 1958. He held research positions in the Sharpless Corporation, the National Research Corporation, the Escambia Chemical Corporation, and the American Cyanamid Company. He retired from the Engineering Research Section of American Cyanamid in 1990.

He was a member of the American Chemical Society and received the Julius A. Kuck Award for Outstanding Service to Western Connecticut Section in 1998. He was also a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and had a long and abiding interest in the development of science.

After his retirement in 1990, he became a volunteer at Danbury Hospital. His special interests included running, hiking, reading, beekeeping, and travel. He completed several marathons, including the Ridgefield Half-Marathon.

Mr. Schoenbrunn served as a former treasurer of the Mamanasco Lake Park Association. He also belonged to the “Wilton Lunch Bunch,” a group of retirees.

Active in the Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Georgetown, Mr. Schoenbrunn served on the church council, was a Sunday School instructor and was active with the New England Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Besides his wife, Mr. Schoenbrunn is survived by a son, Frederick Rinehart Schoenbrunn and his wife Kim of Salt Lake City, Utah; three daughters, Carol Lambiase and her husband Ali Hebshi of Bethany, Mary Magnoli and her husband Mark of Harwinton, and Laura Bradford and her husband Brent of Syracuse, N.Y.; a brother, Alfred G. Schoenbrunn and his wife Lydia of West Simsbury; and nine grandchildren, Nicholas Schoenbrunn, Lynze Schoenbrunn, Jacob Magnoli, Zachary Magnoli, Ryan Bradford, Matthew Bradford, Aaron Hebshi, Leila Hebshi, and Shoshana Hebshi; and a great-grandson Frank Udvoch, as well as several nieces and nephews.

A sister, Marie Schaefer, died before him.

Services will take place on Saturday at 11 a.m. in the Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 44 Portland Avenue, Georgetown.

Burial will take place in York, Pa., at a later date.

Friends will be received in the Kane Funeral Home, 25 Catoonah Street, on Friday from 6 to 8.

Contributions in his memory may be made to Regional Hospice of Western Connecticut, Home Care Program, 405 Main Street, or to the Praxair Cancer Center, Danbury Hospital, 24 Hospital Avenue, both of Danbury, CT 06810, or to the Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 44 Portland Avenue, Redding 06896.