Obituary of Herman Rutner

Herman Rutner of Cambridge passed away peacefully Sunday, December 9, 2018 at the age of 83. Herman is survived by his best friend of 38 years, Cecily Periana of Cambridge, sister Ingrid Tesch and her husband, Guenther Tesch of St. Petersburg, FL and his brother-in-law, William Troester, in Sandy Hook, CT and families of 4 nephews and one niece in Oxford and New Milford, CT and in Ellicott City, MD. He was predeceased by his sister Vera Troester of Sandy Hook, CT and Christine Cardillo of Ellicott City, MD.

Herman was born and raised in East Prussia, Germany. In March of 1945, he and his 3 sisters were able to flee with their parents on the last plane out before the Russian invasion. They settled in a small town in southern Germany. In Nov 1951, the family of 6 immigrated to the United States and lived with their parents in Queens Village, NY.

Herman was on active duty from 1958 to 1960 getting drafted in peace time at age 23 while working at Pfizer since 1953 as lab technician. Herman enjoyed the strenuous 8 weeks of basic training at Fort Dix. Then luckily Herman was assigned to 8-5 PM Chem lab work in Fort Detrick, Frederick, MD, about 50 miles from both Baltimore and DC. Huge secret complex with about 2000 civilian workers, 100 officers and about 200 draftees, mostly scientific and professional college grads. In Jan 1963, he got a CoA and later as a US patent. Herman enjoyed lots of free pm and weekend time to explore the region by car including weekend passes to NYC. Herman was discharged in 1964 and continued working at Pfizer till 1970 while studying for his Masters in Chemistry at Polytech Institute of Brooklyn, NY. 

From 1971 to 1994, Herman was at Becton Dickinson, NY as a chemist and then as R&D manager in Immunodiagnotics and was honored on June 21, 1984 as Distinguished Chemist of Rockland for Innovative Research and as mentor and  teacher of generation of industrial immunochemists. Then he worked as a scientist and director at Immunicon Corp in PA and retired in 2005, but remained active as a scientific consultant until his last day. His contributions to science is measured by many publications and patents during his very impressive career. Herman’s avocation included helping others in sharing his knowledge in nutraceuticals. Herman dedicated his private life in Bible based church activities, citing his favorite hymn, What a Friend We Have in Jesus. 

Herman will be sadly missed by all. The family will receive friends at Burns Funeral Home, 305 Broadway, Cambridge, MA between the hours of 4:00 to 7:00 PM on Thursday, December 13, 2018. Funeral services will be held Friday, December 14th at 10 AM in Saint Mary’s of the Annunciation Church, 134 Norfolk St, Cambridge. Burial will follow in Cambridge Cemetery at 76 Coolidge Avenue in Cambridge. To leave an online condolence visit www.burnsfuneralhomes.com