Obituary for Jere Hohmann
Jere Hohmann, 87, of Doylestown, died peacefully at home on Sunday, June 26, 2022.
Jere was born on October 25, 1934, in Grove City, PA, to the late Beulah Bell (Allen) and Frederick Hohmann, and grew up on his family's small dairy farm in Plain Grove, PA, as the youngest of four. One childhood memory he frequently recalled was spotting his older brother, Jimmy, walking up the farm’s driveway, finally returned home from fighting with the Marines at Iwo Jima. It was, Jere said, the only time he ever saw his mother cry.
Jere attended Carnegie Mellon University from 1951 to 1960, receiving his BS, MS, and PhD in Electrical Engineering.
While at Carnegie, Jere drove a fellow Delta Upsilon fraternity brother to the turnpike on-ramp so the man could hitchhike to graduate school. The man's girlfriend, Judy Perry, tagged along to say farewell, and that was how Jere met his future wife. He and Judy were engaged 3 months later and were married for 62 years.
After graduating Carnegie, Jere worked for Boeing in Seattle and then fulfilled his ROTC obligation by working at the U.S. Army Research and Development Labs at Fort Monmouth in New Jersey. He continued to work at Fort Monmouth as a civilian, helping to award research funds to companies in the new semiconductor industry. He then worked at Bell Labs and General Instruments. During this time, he also became a tenured Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at Monmouth College and an adjunct professor at Columbia University.
In 1976, Jere and his family moved to Doylestown, into the namesake former creamery of Cold Spring Creamery Road--a fixer-upper, which had stood empty for some time. Over the next 18 years, he worked as an engineering manager at Solid State Scientific and Honeywell Instruments and was a vice president at Integrated Circuit Systems. In 1994, Jere founded Focus Semiconductor, and he sold it three years later under very favorable terms. He left retirement to start a second business--Spectrum Devices--at which he worked until his death. Jere never gave up hope of interesting his family in his work, despite the instantaneous glazing-over of their eyes at the word "microchip."
In his spare time, Jere enjoyed tennis and bridge. He was a history and geography buff and a devoted reader of "The Economist." He built or remodeled every home he owned, and he and his son, Dan, built Dan's home almost entirely by themselves.
Jere was an engineer's engineer, who was so interested in logically analyzing the world that, for example, he made the mistake of asking his wife if her hot flashes were, "real heat or perceived heat." He tutored his three children through high school physics and calculus. The downside of asking Dad for math help was that, as his daughter Amy once said, "You get 10 minutes of help solving the problem, followed by 20 minutes of math enrichment." Later, when his children were adults, Jere took his family on numerous cruises and repeatedly led them to triumph in cruise team trivia. In 1996, he bought a building in Doylestown so that his daughter could realize her dream of owning a used book store.
Jere is survived by his wife, Judy; his children, Amy, Daniel, and Jessica; his grandchildren, Michael, Jill, and Elliot; and his sister, Ann Thompson. He was predeceased by his sister, Avonell Bonacker, and his brother James.
Jere combined his interested in higher education and agriculture by serving as a Trustee of Delaware Valley University. He requested that memorial contributions be made there at delval.edu/giving.
A celebration of life luncheon will be held on July 20. Please contact the family for information.
Send condolences to www.varcoethomasfuneralhome.com
Jere was born on October 25, 1934, in Grove City, PA, to the late Beulah Bell (Allen) and Frederick Hohmann, and grew up on his family's small dairy farm in Plain Grove, PA, as the youngest of four. One childhood memory he frequently recalled was spotting his older brother, Jimmy, walking up the farm’s driveway, finally returned home from fighting with the Marines at Iwo Jima. It was, Jere said, the only time he ever saw his mother cry.
Jere attended Carnegie Mellon University from 1951 to 1960, receiving his BS, MS, and PhD in Electrical Engineering.
While at Carnegie, Jere drove a fellow Delta Upsilon fraternity brother to the turnpike on-ramp so the man could hitchhike to graduate school. The man's girlfriend, Judy Perry, tagged along to say farewell, and that was how Jere met his future wife. He and Judy were engaged 3 months later and were married for 62 years.
After graduating Carnegie, Jere worked for Boeing in Seattle and then fulfilled his ROTC obligation by working at the U.S. Army Research and Development Labs at Fort Monmouth in New Jersey. He continued to work at Fort Monmouth as a civilian, helping to award research funds to companies in the new semiconductor industry. He then worked at Bell Labs and General Instruments. During this time, he also became a tenured Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at Monmouth College and an adjunct professor at Columbia University.
In 1976, Jere and his family moved to Doylestown, into the namesake former creamery of Cold Spring Creamery Road--a fixer-upper, which had stood empty for some time. Over the next 18 years, he worked as an engineering manager at Solid State Scientific and Honeywell Instruments and was a vice president at Integrated Circuit Systems. In 1994, Jere founded Focus Semiconductor, and he sold it three years later under very favorable terms. He left retirement to start a second business--Spectrum Devices--at which he worked until his death. Jere never gave up hope of interesting his family in his work, despite the instantaneous glazing-over of their eyes at the word "microchip."
In his spare time, Jere enjoyed tennis and bridge. He was a history and geography buff and a devoted reader of "The Economist." He built or remodeled every home he owned, and he and his son, Dan, built Dan's home almost entirely by themselves.
Jere was an engineer's engineer, who was so interested in logically analyzing the world that, for example, he made the mistake of asking his wife if her hot flashes were, "real heat or perceived heat." He tutored his three children through high school physics and calculus. The downside of asking Dad for math help was that, as his daughter Amy once said, "You get 10 minutes of help solving the problem, followed by 20 minutes of math enrichment." Later, when his children were adults, Jere took his family on numerous cruises and repeatedly led them to triumph in cruise team trivia. In 1996, he bought a building in Doylestown so that his daughter could realize her dream of owning a used book store.
Jere is survived by his wife, Judy; his children, Amy, Daniel, and Jessica; his grandchildren, Michael, Jill, and Elliot; and his sister, Ann Thompson. He was predeceased by his sister, Avonell Bonacker, and his brother James.
Jere combined his interested in higher education and agriculture by serving as a Trustee of Delaware Valley University. He requested that memorial contributions be made there at delval.edu/giving.
A celebration of life luncheon will be held on July 20. Please contact the family for information.
Send condolences to www.varcoethomasfuneralhome.com