Hans U. Jahn June 06, 1935 – April 18, 2019 Share this obituary Sign Guestbook| View Guestbook Entries| Memorial Donation Hans U. Jahn, age 83, passed away peacefully at his home in Charlottesville, VA on Thursday morning, April 18, 2019, yielding to his long struggle with chronic kidney disease. Hans was born on June 6, 1935 in Hamburg, Germany, son of the late Dr. Frank Jahn and Charlotte (Mewes) Jahn. He is a graduate of the executive MBA program at the Harvard School of Business.
Hans relocated from Germany to New York in 1962, in a sales position with Klöckner Werke GmbH. He later became part of a core team that was instrumental in pushing the parent company to establish a rigid plastic films manufacturing presence in the US, and in 1979 that dream was realized with the start-up of Klöckner Pentaplast of the Americas (kpA) in Gordonsville, VA. As vice president, Hans oversaw the company’s sales & marketing activities, and later became kpA’s first executive vice president.
He went on to establish the company’s transportation subsidiary, Intertrans Carrier Company (ICC), and was its’ first president. At the time of his retirement, Hans had served Klöckner for 50+ years. Hans was especially proud of taking the oath of allegiance and establishing his naturalized US citizenship, in a 4th of July ceremony at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello lawn in 2003.
He was an avid reader, antique collector/entrepreneur, world traveler, and philanthropist. A local cause for which he demonstrated long term support was the renovation project, artifact and furniture acquisitions, and ongoing upkeep of The Exchange Hotel Civil War Medical Museum in Gordonsville, VA. Hans mostly enjoyed being with people, that is, he built strong relationships, loved deep conversation, possessed a cheerful sense of humor, and to know him was to feel embraced as part of his family.
He built countless life-long friendships, even as he remained a bachelor throughout his life. Hans is pre-deceased by two sisters, Jutta and Ingrid, and his brother Dr. Frank-Peter. He is survived by a sister-in-law, seven nieces, seven nephews, and their families.
In accordance with his wishes, a private family memorial service in Hamburg, Germany will be scheduled at a later date. Memorial contributions on Hans’ behalf may be made to help preserve the Exchange Hotel and its history. Make checks payable to “Historic Gordonsville, Inc.”, and on the memo line please indicate “In memory of Hans U. Jahn, for The Exchange Hotel Civil War Medical Museum”.
Mail to 400 South Main Street, Gordonsville, VA 22942.
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