Manfred Jaehnig

Manfred “Fred” Jaehnig died in his home at Wellington Place Assisted Living on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, after a brief illness. Fred was born on November 15th, 1937, in Hanover, Germany. During the years of WWII, he lived with his mother and sister as evacuees in a small village. At the end of the war, the family was reunited and returned to Hanover. The family emigrated to the US in 1954 and settled in Neenah, WI, where he attended high school. He met the love of his life, Janice Huhn, in biology class. 1959 was a significant year in Fred’s life: he proudly became a naturalized citizen, he and Jan married, and their son, Mark, was born. Fred had a long-standing interest in Native American culture and prehistory which lead him to study anthropology at Lawrence University. He continued his studies in archaeology/anthropology at the University of WI in Madison. He received a PhD after doing his field work at rock shelters near Maquoketa, Iowa. Fred served as director of the Illinois Archaeology at Northwest University and later as the director of the Washington Archaeology Research Center, but he much preferred teaching and doing field work, which he did for many years, first in the Midwest and later in the Pacific Northwest. Later, Fred and Jan formed an archaeological consulting company and spent happy years hiking, surveying and digging in the hills and mountains of Oregon and Washington. He finished his career working for three confederated Native American tribes. In 2007, Fred and Jan moved to Decorah to be near their son and his family. Fred was active in the Rotary Club and the Riverwalk Condo Assn. He moved to Wellington in 2022 after the death of his wife. He was grateful for his friends and the kind staff at Wellington. Survivors include his son Mark Gowdy-Jaehnig (Christine); grandchildren: Alexandra (Collin), Phillipa, and Bjorn (Anna); and sister Dagmar “Dee” Brunet (Pat).