• Born: September 25, 1924
• Died: May 31, 2017

Parents:

• Father: Josef PATSCHEIDER b. June 11, 1891
• Mother: Magdalena STETTER

Marriage:

• on June 11, 1955 to Hildeborg BERGMEIR b. June 12, 1925 in Augsburg

Children:

• None

Only a few stages of his life are known. He was a professor of mathematics and physics at the high school in Fürstenfeldbruck. In 1973 he moved to the newly founded Viscardi-Gymnasium, where he became the founding principal. He held the rank of Senior Director of Studies and lived to the age of 93, spending his final years in the nursing home in Eichenau. He seems to have been a remarkable person, at least that is evident from an obituary written by one of his students.

And then, of course, there was the incomparable "Mumin." Who exactly gave him this nickname, I don’t know. Originally, it came from a comic character in certain tabloid newspapers. My desk mate at the time, Krois Klausi, one day brought it up, and we adopted it enthusiastically. From then on, Prof. Aurelius Patscheider carried this nickname for the rest of our school years. He taught mathematics and physics, wore his ash-blond hair over his broad face always combed back as if with a ruler, wore an enormous wristwatch and almost always very wide ties, which he seemed to match in color with his white teacher’s coat.

Since then, I have traveled a lot around the world–100,000 flight kilometers in the past 12 months alone. But never again have I met a man of such ultimate correctness. Typical was the almost religious ritual he held the day before every written exam. Solemnly, he handed out his squared paper and lectured in his detached sing-song: "Turn pa-per to the fourth page. Fourth print-ed line from the bot-tomm: line with ink, across the margin too. Un-der this line, noth-ing may be writ-ten dur-ing the ex-am ... "

Curiously, among the students there was a rumor that "Mumin" had previously been transferred to the GRG as punishment for excessive sloppiness (sic!). I considered that just schoolboy gossip. People like him are simply born that way. His correctness rituals, bordering on the bizarre, did not change the fact that he was an excellent teacher.

"Rhythm provides stability!" a chief physician in Bonn lectured me 20 years later when he wanted to persuade me to exercise regularly. If there was ever living proof of this simple truth, it was "Mumin." Among the teachers, there were cynics, whiners, overblown self-promoters, conformists, or laid-back job administrators (besides the nice guys, who cannot all be mentioned here by name). But "Mumin" was the embodiment of psychological stability — and of justice. And that was really it: his system, meticulously structured by squares, not only produced consistently high-quality teaching, it even produced something extremely rare for students: justice. He was simply too consistently caught up in his own mathematically measured rituals to ever allow himself a lapse. In fact, he is the only teacher I remember where everyone had the same chance. The exemplary nature of such a personality should not be underestimated! Moreover, he was the only teacher in my entire school career who admitted an injustice toward a student and corrected it instantly in front of the class.

The way he could present mathematical and scientific concepts was as dry as it was enlightening. The precision with which he demonstrated his physics experiments was unbeatable. With a single exception, when "probably the cleaning lady" had secretly pulled out a power plug. His face then revealed not anger, but deep bewilderment that an element of chance had crept into his carefully planned arrangement. Beyond that, he was a truly fine fellow who cared about his students, though he tried to hide it behind professional distance. In vain, for he was respected nonetheless.

15 years later, I met him at a teachers’ get-together at the Hotel Post. "Yes, ah, now I don’t re-member your name, but you are the Arc-tic man!" He had read my article series in the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" about one of my expeditions.

Sources (original contents in italics):

• Dr. Richard Patscheider: Vom Oberrhein zum Etschquellraum page Z44:
  3. Josef Patscheider, gb. 1891 VI. 11, h. in Kempten 1923 XI. 12. Magdalena Stetter und erwirbt eine Bäckerei mit Café in Endorf am Chiemsee: Sein Sohn Aurelius, gb. 1924 IX. 25. ist zur Zeit Stud. Professor in Fürstenfeldbruck, h. 1955 VI. 11. Hildeborg Bergmeir, gb. 1925 VI. 12. in Augsburg.
• Obituary notice:
  Confirms date of birth and death: *25. September 1924 +31. Mai 2017
• Message from Klaus Volpert on 12.8.2006 via e-mail:
  Aurelius, who became a mathematician in Fürstenfeldbruck, but also remained childless
• Obituary by Bernd Späth:
  Originally from: http://www.cip.physik.tu-muenchen.de/~grg/bspaeth.htm later confirmed by Mr. Späth by e-mail and authorized for use on these pages.