The man who donated $4.4 million to build and maintain Krehbiel Scholarship Hall at the University of Kansas has died. Carl Krehbiel, 68, of Moundridge, died from an accidental fall Dec. 12, 2016, at his home in San Francisco, according to his obituary.

KU announced in 2007 that Krehbiel’s donation would fund the new men’s scholarship hall, named in honor of his parents, at 1301 Ohio St. In 2011, KU Endowment announced a $1.6 million gift from Krehbiel would create the Carl C. Krehbiel German Summer Language Institute Scholarship Fund, supporting students attending programs in Holzkirchen and Eutin, Germany.

Krehbiel himself lived in a scholarship hall and participated in the Germany program as a KU student. Krehbiel graduated from KU in 1970 with a dual degree in Germanic languages and literature and international relations, according to his obituary. He earned master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Southern California. Krehbiel served in the U. S. Army from 1970 to 1991 — including in Vietnam as an elite Green Beret — and retired, highly decorated, as a lieutenant colonel. After his father died he took over the family business, Moundridge Telephone Co. He also served four terms in the Kansas House of Representatives, from 1999 to 2006.

“His passion for knowledge was never satisfied,” his obituary said. “Carl never stopped learning, studying, searching and questioning everything.”

A memorial for Krehbiel was held in January in Moundridge.

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These longtime KU professors also died in recent months:

• Helmut Huelsbergen, professor emeritus of German, died Jan. 5 in Battle Creek, Mich. He was 87.

A German native, Huelsbergen came to KU’s German department in 1958 and retired in 1994. He helped establish KU’s German Summer Language Institute in Lawrence’s sister city of Eutin and directed the Max Kade Center for German-American Studies. 

“Helmut Huelsbergen was a genuinely caring person and truly interested in each and every one of his students as an individual,” German professor William Keel said in a statement from KU. “He wanted his students to succeed and was most generous with his time and advice outside of the classroom.”

No services were planned.

• Robert Nunley, professor emeritus of geography, died Dec. 24, 2016, at age 85. Nunley was part of the department of geography from 1962 to 2002. 

“Bob was always engaged in keeping up to date with the latest advances in applying computers and other digital technology to geography,” Stephen Egbert, professor of geography, said in a statement from KU. “He was well-known as an early adopter and innovator in the field.”

Nunley also enjoyed playing the classical and folk guitar and folk singing, according to his obituary. A musical celebration of life for him is planned April 16 in McLouth.

• Don Daugherty was a longtime professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences at KU. He died Dec. 22, 2016, at 81, according to his obituary. Services were in January. Daugherty, who was assistant department chair for many years and acting chair three times, joined the KU faculty in 1963 and retired in 2000.

In high school Daugherty, who’d enjoyed taking apart and fixing radios for years, thought his future was as a TV or radio repairman, he said in a 2001 Endacott Society oral history interview. With prompting from a counselor and help from a scholarship, he went to college and studied electrical engineering instead. Daugherty said his own teachers inspired him to pursue a career in teaching.

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• I’m the Journal-World’s KU and higher ed reporter. See all the newspaper’s KU coverage here. Reach me by email at sshepherd@ljworld.com, by phone at 832-7187, on Twitter @saramarieshep or via Facebook at Facebook.com/SaraShepherdNews.