William Egbert ’70 P07 P09

Egbert, William C. was born 8/8/1948 in Columbus, Ohlo and died peacefully at home on 7/14/2015 in Minneapolis. Bill met Linda Hart at the Quaker Meeting they both attended and cherished her throughout their 33 years of marriage. Friends often remarked on the fun they had celebrating prime number year wedding anniversaries with them. They were blessed to have three incredible children – Emily, Dan and Lizzy.

A firm believer in the value of public education, he performed countless hours as a volunteer at Kenny, Anthony and Southwest schools. He taught Sunday school for nearly 40 years and was active on various church and civic committees. Bill earned his undergraduate degree in physics from Carleton College and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He taught at the University of Georgia in Athens for 2 years before returning to Minnesota where he worked in basic and applied research for 3M, receiving a dozen patents for the company. One memorable project for 3M was his work as Principal Investigator on the first experiment to grow crystals from organic solvents on the Space Shuttle, a successful effort that landed him a cover photo on Aviation Week and Space Technology.

After 31years he retired from 3M to return to teaching physics and supervising an optics lab at Carleton. His plan for doing fill-in teaching as a retirement gig was cut short by pancreatic cancer. For the next 4 years he sought to understand and treat this condition and valued the friendships he made with others struggling with this disease. His extensive network of family and friends helped him maintain courage and a sense of humor. When Bill could no longer travel, the world came to him through visits from folks down the block, across the country and around the world.  Bill is survived by wife Linda; son Dan (Andrea); daughter Lizzy (Matt); sister Helen; sister-in-law Joanne; brothers and sisters-in-law Russ and Barb and Gary and Laree; nephews and nieces Andy, Debbie (Eric), Doug H., Jason, Jen, and Karl (Crystal). Preceded in death by daughter Emily, brother Jon, sisters Miriam and Rachel, nephew Doug S. and parents Wilson and Evelyn.