Franz Georg Lassner Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Franz Georg Lassner, beloved husband of Marguerite (Sansone) Lassner, died peacefully at home in Cape May, NJ with his wife by his side. Married for more than fifty-seven years, Franz was the loving father of two sons, Alexander Nicholas Lassner (Grazia Russo) and John Paul Lassner and the proud grandfather of three beautiful granddaughters, Marianna, Daphne, and Elizabeth. A native of Austria, Franz and his parents, Oscar and Marga (von Treskow), fled their homeland prior to the Nazi invasion in World War II. His father was a well-known European Opera singer and his godfather was Baron Georg von Trapp. A graduate of Rutgers University, Franz earned his MA and Ph.D. from Georgetown University. He spoke several languages fluently. During his career he worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, DC, and at the Hoover Institute at Stanford, California as Curator of Special Collections and as Director of Archives. A life-long admirer of President Herbert Hoover, Franz was personally selected by the President to be Director of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library in West Branch, Iowa. After his tenure at the Library, he returned to the Hoover Institute as Director of Archives. Later he returned to the East Coast to become Senior Vice President of Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge. While at Freedoms Foundation, he developed highly creative, thought-provoking educational seminars for students, teachers and other professionals; seminars that were greatly appreciated and enjoyed by those who took them. Franz was a stalwart defender of free enterprise and the freedoms enjoyed by the citizens of the United States. He was a devout Roman Catholic and a parishioner at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church in Cape May, NJ. After retirement he was an adjunct professor of history at Temple University and Atlantic City Community College (Atlantic City, NJ) and inspired his students to learn and love history. Franz had a keen wit, a dry, but wonderful sense of humor and possessed a deep and broad knowledge of history. He traveled extensively, especially throughout Europe and Latin America and introduced many of his family and close friends to the countries he loved, especially Austria, Haiti and Guatemala. He once remarked, “I never met anyone, person to person, that I didn’t like.” Franz will be deeply missed by his family, and the many people whose lives were touched by him on this earth. May he rest peacefully in God’s Hands. Franz’s Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on March 25, 2019 (Monday) at 1pm in Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, 525 Washington St., where friends will be received from 12:30pm until 1pm. Interment will be at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested in Franz's memory to the Cape May County Animal Shelter, 4 Moore Road, DN-501B, Cape May Court House, NJ 08210. (Spilker Funeral Home, Cape May) info and condolences: spilkerfuneralhome.com

Franz Georg Lassner

February 10, 2019