Frans Martin Djorup, 91, a resident of The Commons in Lincoln, MA, and former longtime resident of Princeton, N.J., passed away peacefully at home on November 25, 2021.
Born in Philadelphia on November 8, 1930, he was the son of the late Frans and Anne (Baldwin) Djorup. Frans graduated from Abington Senior High School in 1948, and matriculated at Cornell University. He left Cornell for the Navy in 1951 where he served as a pilot. In 1955 he returned to Cornell to complete his undergraduate degree in engineering and physics, graduating with honors in 1958, and completing his PhD in 1963. While in school, he worked as a systems engineer for General Electric, and as an assistant professor at the University of Illinois.
After receiving his PhD, he and his family moved to Princeton, N.J., where he joined the Institute for Defense Analysis (IDA) as a mathematician, focusing on cryptography. He retired from IDA in 1998.
Frans was an avid puzzle solver and game player. He enjoyed blasting through the New York Times crossword puzzle (always with either a No. 1 pencil and his Pink Pearl eraser, or later in life using only a ballpoint pen and only the “Down” clues), and solving mathematical and logic puzzles of all sorts. He also enjoyed watching old movies, of which he had an encyclopedic knowledge. And he loved sharing those passions with his children and grandchildren.
He was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. He leaves behind his wife of 67 years, Marcia J. Djorup, their children, Mary Louise Krakauer (Wayland, MA), Christopher Djorup (Lansdale, PA), and Caroline Gerhardt (Baltimore, MD), his grandchildren, Caryn Krakauer (Wayland, MA), Kevin Krakauer (Sunnyvale, CA), and Domenic Sciancalepore (Lansdale, PA), and his sister Barbara Keen (Spokane, WA). His sister Marjorie Mack predeceased him. He also leaves behind his great-grandchildren, Sophie Lee Krakauer and Henry Lee Krakauer, who were born the day after he died.
Services will be private.
Contributions in his memory may be made to The McGovern Institute at MIT, which focuses on disorders of the brain, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
For his online guestbook, please visit www.DeeFuneralHome.com.