Frederick Asahel Putnam

Frederick Asahel Putnam died January 19 in Peterborough, NH of complications associated with Alzheimer’s disease. He was born July 4, 1947 in Keene, NH to David and Rosamond (Page) Putnam. Fred was a kind and gentle person, always with a quiet smile for anyone at any time.

He grew up in Keene, the fifth of six children. He attended Tilden School, Keene Junior High School and graduated from Deerfield Academy in 1965. While in high school, Fred won a national essay competition for students born on the 4th of July and met President Kennedy when he went to Philadelphia to recite his speech.

Fred graduated from Dartmouth College in 1969 with a degree in Physics. He then volunteered for the Peace Corps, teaching physics and chemistry for two years at the Marudi Government Secondary School in Sarawak, Malaysia.

Returning to the US, he earned a Masters in Chemical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. From 1976 to 1981 he was Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT, doing research and teaching in Applied Surface Chemistry. While at MIT, he was at the forefront of building early personal computers to gather better data for his chemistry and control the experiments in his research.

In 1981, Fred left academia and started Laboratory Technologies Corporation (LABTECH), where he wrote and marketed PC-based data acquisition and control software for research and industrial applications, which he ran until the early 2000’s. Over his career, he accumulated expertise in chemical engineering, computer engineering and software engineering — a lifelong learner and entrepreneur.

In 1980, Fred married Susan Thayer Francis of Marion, MA. Together they raised their three children in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. He was a happy family man and great friend, an avid snow and water skier, sailor and tennis player. He had a great appreciation for the outdoors in the Monadnock Region and was particularly devoted to the loons on Silver Lake, where he spent summers his entire life.

After retiring, he devoted time to environmental issues through work at Ceres, the Putnam Foundation and Friends of the Public Garden in Boston. In conjunction with his environmental protection interests, he also made trips back to Sarawak and his Peace Corps school, having maintained strong friendships from that experience.

Fred is survived by his wife, Susan, of Peterborough; his children, Todd Putnam (Teissia Treynet), Maggie Warner (Evan) and Seth Putnam (Johanna Brophy); his siblings and their spouses, David and Elaine, Tom and Babs, Jim and Judy, Doz and François and Louisa and Kermit; as well as many, many cousins, nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents and his infant son, Jonathan. He will be missed by all who knew and loved him.

Fred’s family will host a funeral service on Saturday, January 28, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. at St. James Episcopal Church in Keene, NH. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Fred’s name to the Loon Preservation Committee or the Monadnock Conservancy.