January 13, 2024 ended the Erich Kuehn era. Born in Germany, Erich emigrated to Canada in 1962 to study chemistry at McGill University. His high school sweetheart, Ursula, followed, and they moved to Wilmington, Delaware, where they had two daughters, and where Erich spent his career as a chemist for Atlas / ICI in the paints and polymers department. He held 41 patents and invented the coating on the Corvette Stingray in the 1970’s.
Raised in the aftermath of World War II, Erich was generous of heart and work ethic. He liked everyone and held no grudges. Friends from all walks of life were welcome to drop in for a bottle of his home-brewed beer or even to move into the guest room and stay for months, or years! He gave a good home to the many cats his daughters “dropped off” during their travels. He loved spending time in his garden, digging for potatoes and making mud cupcakes with his grandchildren. He also enjoyed crafting juice box wallets (and giving them to anyone he laid an eye on), playing Skat at the Delaware Saengerbund, refinishing battered auction antiques into treasures, visiting foreign lands with his wife, and sharing his opinions.
In the hours before his death, his family sat at his bedside recounting anecdotes amid much laughter, the sound of which was always music to his ears. He made us laugh, he made us roll our eyes, but mostly he made us thankful. He was predeceased by his first wife Ursula, who died in a car accident in 1969. He is survived by his beloved wife, Faith, whom he married in 1998, daughters Roz and Heike, son-in-law Steve, and grandchildren Greta, Patrick and Rita.
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