Adrian Korpel Obituary (1932 - 2023)

ADRIANUS (Adrian or “Aad”) KORPEL Adrianus Korpel was born to Adrian and Marie de Klerk Korpel in Rotterdam NL February 18, 1932. He was 8 when Rotterdam was bombed and very disappointed that the beautiful electric train which he had received for his birthday did not survive the bombing, although he and his family escaped the burning city. For two years after that he resided in foster homes in Delft and Vriezenveen while his parents reestablished a home and business. He attended Delft University of Technology receiving his MS in electrical engineering before marrying Abalone (Loni) Israel and emigrating to Melbourne, Australia to work for the post office. Their son, Joost, was born in Australia. After 5 years, they immigrated to Chicago where Adrian began work for Zenith Radio. During his tenure at Zenith, Adrian completed a Ph.D. at Delft University and received 37 patents for work in acousto-optics. The latter part of his career was spent teaching at the College of Engineering at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. He nurtured many graduate students who have gone on to have distinguished careers in university teaching,research and industry. A group of these former graduate students came to Tucson last spring to throw Adrian a lavish 90th birthday bash at a local resort and followed that with an article about him and his work in a professional journal. When still in Iowa, Adrian found an interest in non-technical writing and produced a monthly column of essays (“At Random”) in the local newspaper. He also founded the Kalevala Writers’ Group members of which critiqued each other’s poetry and fiction monthly. His first wife, Loni, passed away in 1993. In 1994, he and Patricia Gants married after being introduced by one of his students (“Prof. Korpel, Do you want to meet a wild woman?”). Sadly, their marriage lasted only months due to her premature death from mesothelioma. His column about the Christmas following this sad event led to meeting one of his column’s readers, Ann Ellsworth. They were married in 1999 and began retirement together as snowbirds in Oro Valley, Arizona, with frequent trips to Mexico and the Netherlands. Many trips included family members joining for bike/barge tours. They settled first in Sun City and later, at Splendido. Adrian was pre-deceased by his parents, two sisters, Henrietta and Wiebke, and his son Joost who gave him the first of two Newfoundland puppies. Adrian is survived by one nephew, Ivo Kamps (Deborah Barker), and members of his “Ragtag Family” a long-term blend of members of his three successive families: wife, Ann, and step-daughters Amy Gants Brucker (Greg), the Rev. Laura Gants Guy (Clif), Kathleen Phelps (Bob O’Connor), Carmen Maendel (Nathanael), and step-son Jim Tran Phelps (Mila Marko) and daughter-in-law, Margaret Korpel. He was Opa to ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren and wrote some special stories for them. Celebration of Life and burial of cremains will take place in Iowa City at a later date. Memorials may be directed to the Southern Poverty Law Center.