Dr. Carl William Gehrs, age 72, of Oak Ridge, died Thursday, Aug. 1, at his home.

He was born May 4, 1941, in Elmhurst, Ill., the son of Carl John and Pearl Hitzke Gehrs and grew up in the western suburbs of Chicago: Westmont and Lombard, where his father was a Lutheran teacher. The first 16 years of his education were in Lutheran schools, and it was at Concordia Teacher’s College in River Forest, Ill., that he met his future wife, Judith Diane Hein.

Following graduation, they were married and taught in Chicago. He taught biology and later became dean of students at Luther High School South, where he also helped coach football. They later lived in Kansas and Oklahoma as he continued his education. After receiving his PhD, the family moved to Oak Ridge in 1972. He worked at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory until 1999, retiring as director of the Center for Biotechnology. [Read more…]