Franz Goebel

Goebel, Franz. From Sudbury, MA. . Franz was the beloved husband of Heidi Elke Goebel (deceased 1999) and is survived by their only daughter Stephanie Goebel of Boston, MA, He is survived by a brother, Johannes Goebel and family of Flerzheim, Germany, preceded in death by his brother Peter Goebel and survived by his family of Ottenhiem Germany. Also survived by sister-in-law Brunhilde Berger and family. He leaves behind many dear friends including the Gemayel family of Sudbury, MA, Phil Spalding of West Tisbury, MA, and loving caretaker Susan Mckinnon of Marlboro, MA.

Franz was born May 19,1936 in Volmershoven, Germany. He grew up during the difficult times created by the start of World War II. Over the years he shared many stories of life in the turbulent and painful years in Germany, but one story was particularly important to Franz. On February 2nd, 1942, Franz and his brother went to the local butcher shop which was bombed while they were inside. While many were killed by the bombing, Franz and his brother, Johannes, both survived and were pulled safely from the rubble. Franz often referred to this date as his second birthday.

Later, Franz studied Physical Chemistry in Lubeck, Germany, and worked at the Institute in Bonn with renowned Professor Vielstich.

Franz had a desire to see the world and, on a group guided trip to the United States, he met the love of his life, Heidi Elke. They were married in 1967. In 1968, the newlyweds decided to move to the United States. They planned to stay for 2 years but fell in love with this country and the opportunities it offered both Franz and Heidi so they made the decision to stay.

They originally settled in Columbus, Ohio, but soon found themselves moving to Massachusetts.

In 1970, Franz began his career in the United States at Tyco Laboratories and not only started making a name for himself in the battery world but also met other German scientists and their German families who became lifelong friends.

In 1977, Franz and Heidi welcomed their only child. With the birth of their beloved Stephanie, their family was complete. In 1978, they moved to Sudbury and found their forever home.

After Tyco Labs, Franz worked at GTE. His work had a significant impact on the country’s space program, made improvements on a device that helps heart disease patients, and facilitated the intake of insulin by diabetics.

With over 50 patents to his credit, including many based on Lithium batteries, Franz made a huge impact on the advancement of batteries all over the world. One program he was involved in created the lithium batteries that were being exclusively used to extend the time missiles can survive and respond to nuclear attacks. It's been quoted and widely believed that Franz knew more about lithium batteries than anyone else in the world.

Franz ended his long and storied career working for Duracell where he pioneered a project to develop a battery that could power an electric car. As a true visionary, Franz’s concept was ahead of its time. Its hard to believe that the idea of an electric car was not something that was considered a potentially lucrative business.

Franz was always curious, a true adventurer and explorer to the end. His lifetime of expeditions took him around the globe, across Europe, to different parts of Africa (more than 20 times), Siberia, Mongolia, Argentina, New Zealand, Kamchatka, Thailand, Japan, China, Burma (now Myanmar) to name a few. His stories were compelling and famous and kept friends and family entertained for hours (often over a bottle of red or perhaps a Jagermeister or Asbacht Uralt).

Franz touched many lives and will be remembered and missed by friends across the globe.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Saturday, November 13th at 10 AM at Our Lady of Fatima, Ascension Parish in Sudbury MA followed by a reception at the church.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Franz’s name to the Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org) or the Multiple Sclerosis Society (www. https://www.nationalmssociety.org.)