Walter Carl Henneberger

CARBONDALE – Walter Carl Henneberger, 95, passed away on Wednesday, April 9, 2025 at his home.

Walter was born on January 17, 1930 to Peter and Gertrude (Link) Henneberger in Bradley. He married Gerlinde Emma Gleissner on August 17, 1967 in Bad Neustadt/Saale, Germany. She preceded him in death.

Walter is survived by his sister Eleanor McCormick of Pheonix, AZ area; his children Petra (Jean) Utke of Lisle, IL, Bernard Henneberger of Carbondale, IL; grandchildren Eva Utke and Lukas Utke; and nieces and nephews Karen (Scott) Giles of Goodyear, AZ, Ed (Sue) McCormick of Frankfurt, IL, and Peter McCormick and Andy (Laura) McCormick of Fayetteville, GA.

Walter and Gerlinde were married for 56 wonderful years and traveled the world together. Walter was drafted in the US Army during the Korean War while attending Purdue University. On the GI bill, he later earned his PhD at the University of Goettingen in Germany. He was a professor at several universities, including Fordham University in New York, the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies in Ireland, and University of Notre Dame in Indiana. He settled down at SIUC in 1963 where he felt he could work with freedom. In 1968 he published a paper suggesting that an electron could be freed from an atom and bound to it at the same time, with the help of super-intense lasers. His theoretical conception of this atom state was recently proven to be correct experimentally and is referred to as the Kramers-Henneberger (KH) atom. He was a professor at SIUC for over 30 years. After he retired, he collected and repaired clocks as a hobby.

A Funeral Mass will take place on Saturday, May 24, 2025 at 10:00 am at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church with Father Robert Flannery officiating. A reception will follow after the mass. Visitation will take place from 6:00pm to 8:00pm on Friday, May 23, 2025 at Meredith Funeral Home. Rosary will take place on Friday at 7:45pm at the funeral home, and on Saturday at 9:45am before the mass.

For those who cannot attend the service on Saturday, it will be live streamed by clicking here: Live Stream

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Andrew School in Murphysboro.

Meredith Funeral Home in Carbondale is assisting the family with arrangements. To leave a story or memory of Walter, visit www.meredithfh.com