Dr. Klaus Rossberg

‘The imagination of nature is far, far greater than the imagination of man.”
~ Nobel laureate Richard Feynman

Many called him a Renaissance man: A brilliant and always curious physicist, author, mentor, teacher, chef of German cuisine, connoisseur of classical music, lover of the arts, and handyman around the house, with a quirky sense of humor, the desire to travel the world, and much love and patience in his heart for those who shared his private and professional life.

Klaus F. W. Rossberg, PhD, was born on July 27, 1934, in Schulpforta located near Naumburg, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt to Leo Rossberg, physician, and Lotte Rossberg, pianist, as the youngest of three children. His birthplace is a former Cistercian monastery converted to a celebrated public boarding school in 1543, of which Klaus’s grandfather was a revered rector in the late 1920s,

In 1935, Klaus’s parents with their three young children, Karl, Ute and Klaus, moved to Frankenberg, Germany, where Klaus attended elementary school and then a high school for boys. At age six, barely able to read, he already had an intrinsic curiosity for science, a passion that drove him to explore and learn for the sheer joy of the activity itself. At age eight, Klaus decided that the study of science would be his future. According to his sister (now 94 and living in Germany) Klaus’s eyes lit up every time he could “tinker” with numbers, which he did every chance he got.

During those formidable years, Klaus determined that being a physicist was his calling. In 1952, he entered the University of Greifswald in Greifswald, Germany, declaring his major in physics. In 1954, he transferred to the Freie Universitaet (Free University) of Berlin and received his diploma in physics three years later. The University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ was his next stop: PhD in physics with focus on quantum mechanics and theory of relativity. At age 31, he successfully defended his dissertation.

In 1965, he secured his first teaching position at the Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan. He decided that four years in Michigan with its harsh winters were enough, and in fall of 1969 he arrived in OKC to start his position as assistant professor of physics at OCU, which would become his professional home for more than 50 years. He taught physics, astronomy, acoustics and calculus, all with great passion.

A six-year marriage produced a daughter, Nadya, but ended in divorce in 1979 and Klaus was once again a bachelor for nearly 10 years. In 1988, on a cool and sunny September day, at Naifeh’s International Food store in OKC, OK, he met the love of his life, Dagmar, as he shopped for quince jam and she for German sponge cake with her 9-year-old daughter Angela.

In July 1989, Klaus and Dagmar married in the Y Chapel of Song on the UCO campus in Edmond with their two daughters, family and friends in attendance. A happy union of 36 years followed that was rich with laughter, travels to Europe, Alaska, Hawaii and his beloved Santa Fe as Klaus and Dagmar had careers in the academic arena with many months off during the summer; gatherings with friends and frequent trips to concerts and theater performances delighted his heart. He was fiercely fond of felines, especially Maine Coons, Birmans, and Ragdolls and Klaus and Dagmar were the pet parents to many over the years.

Being a physics professor was Klaus’s calling and interacting with his students and seeing them succeed made his blue eyes sparkle with joy. “Happy is he who wants to learn and to give his knowledge to others” he would say often, followed by his dimpled, crooked smile

In May 2020, at age 86, he retired from OCU after a remarkable career of over 50 years at that same institution. In 2024, at the age of 89, his health started to decline and the sparkle in his eyes to dim. The Renaissance man was losing his vigor, good health, and vibrant disposition, all of which he enjoyed throughout his entire life.

Klaus died peacefully on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, at Integris Health Hospice House, a small facility in OKC, staffed by skilled and caring physicians and hospice nurses, with his wife and best friend of 36 years by his side.

Though he may not walk among us any longer, his spirit lives on in the thousands of lives he has touched throughout his long life and career. He was a man of his word, reliable, loving, radiating quiet strength and kindness.

He leaves behind his wife Dagmar, daughters Nadya Swafford and Angela Ellis, two daughters in heart Morgan Dunsmore and Carolyn Click; his granddaughter Maddy Garcia and her husband TJ, and great granddaughter Aurora; his grandson Gavin Stevens, his sister Ute Rossberg, his sister-in-law Ingrid Kaiser and niece-by-marriage Marianne Kaiser and her many siblings, his feline quartet, and some very dear friends, especially Dr. Saeed and Pooneh Shadfar, Barbara and Andy Lester, Janet and Roger Owen, and Jared and Angela Hopkins.

His brother, Dr. Karl Rossberg, brother-in-law Manfred Buettner, and most of his many cousins preceded him in death.

A service to celebrate his live will be held on Friday, October 17, 2025, at 3 p.m. in the chapel of Smith and Kernke Funeral Home, 14624 N May Ave, OKC, OK 73134. All who knew and loved him are welcome. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Free to Live Animal Sanctuary located in Guthrie, OK.