Dear Fred,
Right before you died at age 34, you were seriously thinking about becoming an astronaut. This is the least I can do for you. I hope the space flight is not too cold and is as enjoyable as you imagined.
As you might be able to see from the sky, Alex enjoys working, and Max has finished his master's degree and is getting his Ph.D in brain research.
For some time I envied you for leaving all kinds of problems on us.
Life has been a long struggle but now it is much better.
We have received so much support from so many people.
I am proud of both boys as well as myself.
Yaeko
***
Fred Zeigler: A son of whom a father could be proud.
Spent two summers at Ohio State University in a national science foundation program for exceptional mathematic students, was co-valedictorian in high school, graduated cum laude from California Technical Institute, studied for a year at Cambridge University, got his Ph.D. in mathematics at UCLA, and was employed at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque.
Married a lovely, gifted Japanese lady who has done a wonderful job of raising your two boys in your absence.
Bon voyage,
Dad
***
The Fredrick J. Zeigler Memorial Award
The Frederick J. Zeigler Memorial Award was established in 1989 to honor Frederick J. Zeigler, a member of the Caltech class of 1976 and an applied mathematics major. The award, which carries a cash prize of $2,500, is given to a pure or applied mathematics student in the sophomore or junior year. Selected by the faculty in pure and applied mathematics, the award recognizes excellence in scholarship as demonstrated in class activities or in the preparation of an original paper or essay in any subject area.
