KLAUS WROGEMANN

Adjust Text Size: A+ A-

KLAUS WROGEMANN

December 8, 1940 - October 28, 2024

The gates of heaven no longer squeak; upon arrival, the first thing Klaus did was get out the WD40. Thankfully, they've eased security, so his Swiss Army knife was not confiscated.
Klaus Wrogemann was born in Berlin in 1940 to Wilhelm and Wilhelmine Wrogemann. Klaus is survived by his wife, Dorit, his brother Jürgen (Angelika), his sister Inge, his children, Jens, Mark (Katherine Haist), and Sylvia (Mark Buchholz), and his four grandchildren, Ilsa, Julia, Claire, and Bruno.
Klaus completed medical school at Phillips University in Marburg, but he never practiced as a physician. His intellectual curiosity and mission to solve problems led him to instead pursue a PhD in Biochemistry under the supervision of Dr. Marcel Blanchaer at the University of Manitoba.
Upon completing his PhD, Klaus was immediately offered a tenure track position as associate professor of biochemistry at the U of M. But he needed to take care of a personal priority; he returned to Germany and got married to Dorit. Together, they moved to Winnipeg in 1967 and began to forge their legacy around hard work, thoughtfulness and deep friendships.
Klaus was always dedicated to his work, whatever form it took. In fact, he loved every kind of work except for grant-writing and cooking, the latter for which he had an inexplicable aversion.
Professionally, Klaus had a few brushes with minor-league fame, but because he was humble, not many knew about him outside of his professional circle. None of the hosts on CBC TV's popular "Front Page Challenge" show guessed that it was him behind the curtain on their episode in December 1982. During the Jerry Lewis Telethon fundraiser for Muscular Dystrophy in 1982, Jerry said of Klaus, "if I could meet him, I would kiss his feet."
But Klaus didn't always get it right. It turns out that the notorious "missing protein" behind the 1982 media flurry was not in fact related to MD, but rather had other implications that paved the way for his subsequent research. At the time, his integrity as a scientist came to the fore as he was adamant about promptly informing other researchers whose work might be impacted by this discovery.
Klaus was sometimes mistaken as a perfectionist, but it was actually the combination of his thoughtful planning, astute risk assessment, prompt execution, and appreciation of 'gut genug' (good enough) that yielded the many professional and personal accomplishments he gifted to the world. If he didn't get things right the first time, he adjusted and tried again until he was satisfied with the result.
Klaus loved cars - particularly Volkswagens. Despite not having much interest in ostentatious vehicles, he was also a long-time fan of Formula 1 racing, enjoying it particularly during Michael Schumacher's reign with Ferrari. He often proudly (but discreetly) wore a tie with a tiny prancing horse logo that had been gifted to him personally by Enzo Ferrari, whose son had passed away from Duchenne MD. Klaus never let his emotional bias towards Volkswagen (or any organization) cloud his principles, however; he once resignedly purchased a Dodge Spirit over a VW Golf out of spite over VW's sales tactics.
Writing letters to major corporations and governments to point out their shortcomings was one of the ways Klaus took action. He was always thoughtful and constructive with suggestions for solutions. When Barack Obama won the election in 2008, Klaus immediately sent him a letter and a copy of "Smelling Land," an academic book touting hydrogen-based energy solutions for the climate crisis.
Despite operating at the top of his field in Muscular Dystrophy research, Klaus also wanted to be a farmer. Every year during the harvesting season, his good farmer friend Klaus Wolf had to graciously decline Klaus's offer to drive the enormous combine... Sure, Klaus excelled at many things, but he perhaps underestimated the skill and special license it takes to operate that kind of heavy machinery. But Klaus fulfilled his farming dreams by purchasing some land one hour northwest of Neepawa, on Horseshoe Lake. There, he and Dorit cultivated a large vegetable garden and spent weekends with family and friends. Klaus also fished, sailed, windsurfed, canoeed, and finally got to drive a tractor - albeit a lawn tractor.
Klaus loved tennis. He started to play at age 28 under the tutelage of his friend Gerry Labies, and together they collected several trophies as a doubles team in local tournaments. Eventually, he teamed up with Terry Langan, who would become his permanent doubles partner. He and Terry had considerable success playing Senior Nationals tournaments across Canada, often catching their unsuspecting opponents by surprise with their tactical prowess and sartorial paucity. Terry joined the exclusive heavenly tennis club on October 21, 2024; exactly one week before Klaus.
Klaus expressed his love and loyalty for family and friends through his actions rather than words. He was always ready to help family and friends. He passed on many of his passions and philosophies to his three children. He loved fixing things and trying to make the world a little better, one squeaky gate at a time.
The family would like to thank Dr. Paul Munns from St. Boniface Hospital and all the staff at the Orthopedic Trauma ward at Grace Hospital, with special mention to Dr. Burton Abbott and Dr. Ian Burron.
Donations can be made to Muscular Dystrophy Canada, Parkinson's Canada, or The Winnipeg Foundation.
A service will be held on November 5, 2024, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Church at 603 Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg. A recording of the service will be posted here shortly after completion: https://www.ethicaldeathcare.com/obits/wrogemann-klaus

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Nov 02, 2024