Florian Muckenthaler, loving husband and father, passed away peacefully on March 23, 2024, at the age of 90. He was the loving husband of Elizabeth (Palaimo) Muckenthaler for 54 years.

Florian is survived by his wife Elizabeth, daughters Mary Sullivan (husband Jim) of Marstons Mills, MA, and Janet Vignaly (husband Vincent) of West Boylston, MA, son Robert Muckenthaler (wife Kelly) of Merrimack, NH, and ten grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister, Ann Quaney of Wichita, KS, and a number of nieces and nephews.

The sixth of seven children, Florian was predeceased by his sister, Leona Dickenson of Crofton, MD, and brothers George Muckenthaler of Kettering, OH, Steve Muckenthaler of Lakewood, CA, Earl Muckenthaler of Topeka, KS, and Marvin Muckenthaler of St. Marys, KS.

The son of Louis and Clara (Stork) Muckenthaler of Paxico and St. Marys, KS, Florian grew up in Kansas where he attended the Newbury elementary school near Paxico and graduated from St. Marys High School in St. Marys, KS. After high school he attended Rockhurst College in Kansas City, MO for two years.

Florian subsequently studied Latin, Greek, literature, philosophy and theology as a seminarian in the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). He later earned a B.S. in Biology from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama and a Ph.D. in Cell Biology from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He spent a year as a postdoctoral fellow in the Biology department at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Dr. Muckenthaler worked as a professor of Biology at the State University of New York at Albany for six years, after which he moved to West Bridgewater, MA in 1971 and joined the faculty of the Department of Biological Sciences at Bridgewater State College. He was a professor of Biology at BSC for 29 years and served for several years as chairman of the department. Two of his sabbatical leaves were spent doing research at two nearby institutions: Brown University in Providence, RI and the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology in Shrewsbury, MA.

Dr. Muckenthaler was the author or co-author of several papers in the field of developmental genetics. He was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, The American Genetic Association, the American Institute of Biological Sciences, the American Society of Zoologists, the American Society of Cell Biology and Society of the Sigma Xi.

A long-time member of the South Shore Regional Science Fair committee, Dr. Muckenthaler coordinated the judging for many years at the South Shore Regional Science Fair for high school students held at Bridgewater State College each spring.

For many years, Florian served as a lector at the Church of St. Ann in West Bridgewater. His family has fond memories of involvement in town activities, adventures playing in the woods behind the house, and summer trips in the station wagon to visit family in Kansas and other family and site-seeing stops along the way. In retirement Florian enjoyed playing bridge at several area Senior Centers and for a number of years was director of the West Bridgewater Senior Bridge Club. He also enjoyed playing golf as well as bowling with the Brockton senior league. His hobbies included his devoted attentiveness to the activities of his children and grandchildren, his enthusiasm for word games and memory exercises, and a continuing interest in and enjoyment from listening to classical music.

Florian's family is grateful for the respect and compassionate care he was given at the end of his life at Morton Hospital in Taunton, MA, where his whole family gathered to be with him in his final hours. Private services were held and he was laid to rest at Pine Hill Cemetery in West Bridgewater, MA. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Catholic Charities.