Amherst, Conrad (Connie) Wogrin, 92, died peacefully on March 8, 2017 surrounded by his family.

Born in Denver CO in 1924, son of Conrad and Rozina Wogrin, he graduated from Manual High School. He attended Yale University where he received his bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees in Electrical Engineering.

During World War II, he served in the army in Europe as the non-commissioned officer in charge of communication systems at Supreme Headquarters.  He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Meritorious Service for supervision of signal installations improvised from captured enemy equipment.

He was a professor of Electrical Engineering at Yale University and in 1967 moved to University of Massachusetts where he played a seminal role in the development of the computer science program and the University Computing Center. He was a pioneer in advocating that computers should impact every area of research in the university and that computing facilities should be available free to every member of the university community.  Throughout his 30-year career at UMass, Connie worked to keep computer resources funded, served twice as the Chair of the department of Computer Science, helped build computer science into a world-class research department, participated in the administration at the university, and kept the central research computers running.

Connie was dedicated to serving the communities in which he lived.  For 12 years he was a member and chairman of the School Committee and a member of the vestry of Saint Peters Church in Cheshire CT.  In Amherst, he was a member of Rotary Club of Amherst, on the Town Planning Board and was Treasurer of Friends of the Jones Library.  Until his final days, he was active at Applewood, his retirement community, by serving on the Staff Appreciation Committee and Speakers Committee.

Connie was an avid reader and enjoyed model ship building, skiing, golf, music and bridge.  He and his wife traveled extensively. His greatest joy, however, came from time spent with his family.

He is survived by Barbara his beloved wife of 65 years; his three daughters Sandy Warren and husband Bob of Delray Beach, FL, Carol Wogrin of Harare Zimbabwe, Nancy Confrey and husband Tony of Concord, MA; seven grandchildren Susan (Kevin), Sharon (Andrew), Andrew (Mark), David (Ali), Dylan, Nick, and Jack; and three great-grandchildren Henry, Claire and Joshua.  He is also survived by his sister, Frances Rochford, brother, Robert Wogrin, and brother-in-law, Carl Yohans.

A memorial service will be held Friday, March 17^th at 2 pm at Grace Church in Amherst, MA. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to: Conrad Wogrin Undergraduate Scholarship in Computer Science (check payable to University of Massachusetts Amherst (memo line – Conrad Wogrin Scholarship) and mailed to: UMass Amherst Records & Gift Processing, 134 Hicks Way, Memorial Hall, UMass, Amherst, MA 01003 or online at cics.umass.edu/support); or to the Hospice of the Fisher Home, 1165 North Pleasant St, Amherst, MA 01002.