Frederick William “Fred” Bauchwitz

Frederick William (Fred) Bauchwitz passed away on April 6, 2025, at 63 years of age. Fred was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1961. He was the second of four children of Peter Siegbert Bauchwitz of Halle (Saale) Germany and Maria Helena Palmeira Bauchwitz of Aracaju, Brazil. At one year of age, Fred moved to Wilmington, Delaware, with his parents and older brother, Robert (born 1960). Fred’s father was a Ph.D. research chemist working for the DuPont Company. Fred and Robert were joined by siblings Karen and Monica in 1962 and 1964. Fred’s mother, an obstetrician by training, transitioned to psychiatry to better balance her career with raising her growing family. 

A gifted child with wide-ranging talents, Fred developed a lifelong passion for chess, music, and literature. Mentored by his father and a master-level neighbor, Fred rose to become Delaware’s top-rated high school chess player, winning an interscholastic competition in ninth grade, and later led Mt. Pleasant High School’s chess team to a state championship. In later years, he shared his love of the game by organizing a chess club at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute of the University of Delaware.

Fred loved music throughout his life and was already a very talented pianist at an early age. He studied and performed classical piano at the Wilmington Music School, where he won two Honor Awards in annual competition. He also studied the clarinet, which he played in various orchestras and bands, including at Mt. Pleasant High School, from which graduated in the Class of 1979. He was a member of the National Honor Society of Secondary Schools. 

Fred also enjoyed writing poetry. In high school. He wrote for the Mt Pleasant High School literary publication, Collage, and was its Editor-in-Chief for the 1979 edition. Fred continued to write and study poetry throughout his life. 

After high school, Fred attended the University of Michigan Honors Program as a Freshman Scholar. He majored in Mathematics and graduated with distinction in 1982. He then obtained a Johns Hopkins University Fellowship to pursue his study of mathematical sciences as a graduate student. He obtained a Masters of Science and Engineering degree in Applied Mathematics in 1984. 

While Fred had been pursuing his studies during college and graduate school, he was increasingly afflicted with an illness which would come to shape his adult life. Despite these difficulties, Fred maintained an enduring curiosity and commitment to learning, becoming exceptionally well-read across many disciplines.

Thanks to medical advances and the devoted care of his family—especially his mother and brother Robert, a cognitive neuroscientist—Fred’s later years brought him renewed stability and joy. Modern treatments allowed him to regain his musical virtuosity and more peace of mind. He especially cherished performing concerts at senior living centers and nursing homes.

In 2018, Fred’s brother, Robert, returned to live with Fred and their mother, who assisted Robert in rehabilitating from his own medical issue. Eventually, the brothers would go on to take care of their mother at the end of her life. The brother’s enjoyed discussing biology, physics, current events, and had season tickets to the Delaware Opera, which they felt was a special gem of Wilmington, Delaware. 

As much as the great social investments made in biomedical research eventually paid off handsomely for Fred, on April 6, 2025, while recovering during what was expected to be a relatively short inpatient stay, Fred died while eating breakfast at the Wilmington Hospital. (The circumstances of this event remain under investigation.)