Obituary

Henry Fredrick Schoemehl, an electrical engineer in the sound recording and aerospace and defense industries, died Saturday 20 March 2010 following a lengthy pulmonary illness. He was 83.

Mr. Schoemehl, a resident of Laguna Woods, Calif., was born in Terre Haute, Ind., to Anna and Henry Schoemehl on June 1, 1926. As a resident of nearby Seelyville, he attended Rose Polytechnic Institute, where he received his bachelor’s degree with honors in electrical engineering. He later received a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University.

After a brief stint in the elevator industry, he was employed at the Radio Corporation of America in Indianapolis, where he worked in a lab that researched sound recording. While there, Mr. Schoemehl developed three patents involving methods to improve recorded sound. After leaving RCA, he worked as a civilian engineer for the Navy Department, a position that involved missile development at the China Lake Naval Weapons Center in California’s Mojave Desert.

For the remainder of his work life, Mr. Schoemehl was employed by several companies involved in semiconductor, solar cell and variable-speed motor applications. He retired from Teledyne Inet in 1991. In retirement, he first lived in Bear Valley Springs, near Tehachapi, Calif., then relocated to Laguna Woods Village in 2003.

Mr. Schoemehl is survived by his widow, Barbara, of Laguna Woods, to whom he was married for 57 years; sons Frederick, of Tustin, Calif., and Mark, of Sunny Valley, Ore.; and a daughter and son-in-law, Karen and Thomas Reinsel, of Sewickley, Penn. He was preceded in death by a brother, John, of Fort Wright, Ky.

Funeral mass for Mr. Schoemehl will be offered at 9 a.m. Thursday 25 March 2010 at St. Nicholas Catholic Church, 25252 El Toro Road, Laguna Hills, Calif. His ashes will be placed at Ascension Cemetery in nearby El Toro.

The family suggests contributions to Catholic Charities, Boys Town Charities or the American Lung Association.