John Hren
12/3/1933 – 10/24/2023
Cary, North Carolina – John Joseph Hren, age 89, passed away on October 24, 2023, in Cary, NC.
Born December 3, 1933, in Milwaukee, WI, son of the late John Hren and Mary Hren, John attended Milwaukee public schools and graduated from Boys’ Technical and Trade HS in 1951. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he graduated with a BS in Metallurgical Engineering in 1957, serving two years in the US Army during the Korean War after his sophomore year. It was at UW where he met his wife of 66 years Joyce Hren (nee’ Dickson). After graduation, John and Joyce moved to Washington, DC where he worked in the US Patent Office. He then studied engineering at the University of Illinois-Urbana and received an MS degree in 1960. After graduation, they moved to California where he attended Stanford, and John received a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering in 1962. After graduation, John and his young family moved to Europe for several years of post-graduate work, before accepting a faculty position at the University of Florida-Gainesville in 1964. John was a pioneer in the field of electron microscopy, being President of the Microscopy Society of America in 1981, as well as co-authoring two books on the subject and numerous research articles. He was very fond of being a faculty advisor to many undergraduate and graduate students, whom he considered his second family. In 1985, John accepted the position of Department Head of the Materials Science and Engineering Department at NC State, where he worked until his retirement in 2011.
John was a lifelong Catholic, being raised in the church and having been a member of Saint Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church in Apex, NC, since 1985.
John loved his family foremost and was a loving and dedicated husband and father. He is survived by his wife Joyce, his children Karl Hren, Chris (Kevin) Phillips, Jonathan (Stacey) Hren, and Stephen Hren, and his 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He loved traveling, taking many international trips with his wife and family over the years. John received two Fulbright scholarships, and performed research and taught abroad in Melbourne, Lisbon, and Ljubljana. John also loved the outdoors and was very fond of nature and the conservation of natural resources.
John was preceded in death by his son Philip Hren who passed in 2021, and is survived by his wife Catherine Hren.
Service will be held at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church on November 3rd at 11:00 am.
In Lieu of flowers, we ask that donations be sent to www.audubon.org to honor his love for nature.