On Wednesday, October 12, 2022, Dr. Frederick F. Jackisch passed away in Fort Wayne, Indiana, at the age of 99, just one month shy of his 100th birthday. Dr. Jackisch was the head of the Organ Department, oversaw the Master of Sacred Music program, and later was Dean of the School of Music at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. In his long career as a teacher and musician in the Lutheran Church, he influenced a great many church musicians who followed him.
His obituary can be found on the website of FairHaven Funeral Home in Ft. Wayne. His funeral service will be on Tuesday, October 18, 2022 at Trinity English Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne at 11:00 am with visitation an hour before. ALCM member Robert Hobby is Cantor at Trinity English Lutheran.
Bob Hobby’s Facebook post:
My heart is both heavy and grateful as I reflect on the death of Dr. Frederick Jackisch which occurred this past week; he was just a month shy of his hundredth birthday. Fred, who was a consummate church musician and educator, concluded his professional career as Dean of the School of Music, Wittenberg University. There, like so many other students, I was a blessed beneficiary of his knowledge and wisdom. The larger Lutheran church also benefitted from his leadership on the hymn committee for Lutheran Book of Worship, of which one of his original tunes and five harmonizations appear.
Later in life – a little over two decades ago – Fred moved to Fort Wayne and joined Trinity English Lutheran. Always the educator, he would occasionally offer me a constructive suggestion (which I greatly appreciated – who doesn’t love being a student in one’s 40s and 50s?), but our communications were always full of his appreciation and affirmation. Regardless of topic, Fred was my “on-going professor” and treasured friend. Although his body became weaker with the years, his mind was sharp up until his final days. The picture here was our last, taken in early May.
As I lament that our hour plus phone calls will no longer exist, I continue to give thanks for the wisdom he imparted in me, wisdom that will continue to travel with me the rest of my journey.
