Francis J. ‘Buzz’ Muckenthaler

Francis J. “Buzz” Muckenthaler, age 90, of Oak Ridge, died Sunday, May 12, at Tennova Inpatient Hospice in Knoxville.

He was born April 3, 1923, in Paxico, Kansas, the son of Raymond and Cecelia Meinhardt Muckenthaler.

He served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps from 1943 to 1946, after which he graduated from Rockhurst University and received a master’s degree in physics from the University of Kansas in 1949. That same year, he began employment with Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation in Oak Ridge. He transferred in 1951 to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, from which he retired in 1993.

As a physicist, his research provided experimental data for the design and development of shielding systems for nuclear reactors. For this, he was honored for technical achievement by the American Nuclear Society.

Playing basketball and baseball was still a part of his activities in Oak Ridge after his professional pitching career in the St. Louis Cardinal Organization was ended by injury. He officiated 30 years of high school basketball and spent 10 years coaching junior and senior high school girls in the city-wide Church Basketball League. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame at Oak Ridge and Rockhurst University.

He was an active member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus for nearly 67 years, and since retirement he helped in building and remodeling houses through the Habitat for Humanity and Aid to Distressed Families organizations. He was a dedicated volunteer for the local Holiday Bureau.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his daughter, Deborah Muckenthaler, and son, Randall Muckenthaler.

He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Margret Fitzsimons Muckenthaler; son, Richard Muckenthaler and wife Gayla, of Chattanooga; daughter, Peggy Jordan and husband Stan, of Boca Raton, Fla.; daughter-in-law, Karen Muckenthaler of Cranford, N.J.; brothers, Cyril Muckenthaler and wife Dollye, of Stillwater, Minn., and Raymond Muckenthaler of Kansas City, Mo.; sister, Agatha Gorman and husband Ray of Overland Park, Kansas; six grandchildren, Chas Muckenthaler, Jenny Jones and husband Adam, Kristi Muckenthaler, Casey Jordan, Randall Muckenthaler, and Kendl Muckenthaler; and great-granddaughter, Savannah Jones.

The family will receive friends Thursday May 16, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Weatherford Mortuary. The family will also receive friends on Friday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church from 10-10:30 a.m. The funeral mass will begin at 10:30 a.m. with Bishop George Fitzsimons officiating, and the burial will follow at Anderson Memorial Gardens.

An online guest book can be signed at www.weatherfordmortuary.com.