Dr. M.D. Ph.D's Obituary
Born in Lima, Peru on November 11, 1932, Carlos Luis Krumdieck died in Charlotte, North Carolina on May 6, 2016, of Parkinson’s disease, only eight weeks after the death of his beloved wife of 56 years, Jeannette Krumdieck.
He received his medical doctorate degree in 1957 from the National University of San Marcos in Lima, Peru. He then married Jeannette Falconi, a pharmacist who worked in his research laboratory, and came to the United States to attend Tulane University, where he earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry in 1964.
He briefly returned to Lima as a faculty member of the University of Cayetano Heredia, and then in 1967, came back to the United States and joined the faculty of the Department of Biochemistry and School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where he stayed for the remainder of his career.
At UAB, together with his colleagues Doctor Charles E. Butterworth and Doctor Roland L. Weinsier, he founded the Department of Nutrition Sciences, where he served as vice chairman and director of nutritional biochemistry for many years. In 1985 he was given the Borden Award by the American Institute of Nutrition for outstanding contributions to nutrition research in the area of folic acid metabolism.
He had a quiet, modest temperament with a self-deprecating sense of humor. He was kind and generous toward others, and was a wonderful teacher who nurtured the careers of many students and faculty in the fields of biochemistry, medicine, and nutrition sciences.
He had a sharp, agile mind and broad interests which extended beyond medicine and science to include his love of literature, music, sailing, wood working, and metal working. He played the piano and accordion, and he had a wonderful collection of classical musical recordings which he enjoyed sharing with others.
On weekdays after work and on weekends he could often be found at home in his workshop where over the years he built numerous pieces of beautiful furniture for the family home, a grandfather clock, and a sailboat with which he introduced his children to the sport of sailing. He also designed and manufactured laboratory equipment to assist in his research, and in 1974, developed the first live tissue microtome (Krumdieck Tissue Slicer), which is used in biomedical research in labs throughout the world.
During the course of his career as a biochemist and physician scientist, he authored more than 150 research articles. His final publication in 2013 combined his professional career with his avocation and was entitled Development of a Live Tissue Microtome, Reflections of an Amateur Machinist.
He is survived by his two sons, Alex and Richard, and by his three grandchildren, Shannon, Max, and Cary. He was preceded in death by his wife, Jeannette, and his granddaughter, Grace.
A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, June 25 at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Davidson. Committal services will follow at Mimosa Cemetery.
Online condolences may be made at www.jamesfuneralhomelkn.com.
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