Dr. Hans-Jürgen Jakob Gaycken

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Dr. Hans-Jürgen Gaycken died peacefully in his sleep at home in Oxford on the 30th of January, 2024, after several years of declining health. A memorial service led by the Reverend Gail Stratton will be held in the Chapel of Waller Funeral Home on Saturday, February 3, 2024, at 2pm, with a reception celebrating Dr. Gaycken’s life to follow in West Hall until 4pm.

He was born to Friedrich and Magda Gaycken (geb. David) in 1933 in Fliegenfelde, a small town in the north of Germany; the spires of the city of Lübeck were visible from the top floor of their farmhouse. The oldest of six siblings, he completed his studies at the Königin-Louise-Schule in Bad Oldesloe, which, he was fond of pointing out, took him an hour by bicycle to reach. After completing school, he worked in Hamburg in the import-export business. In 1957, he traveled to the United States in order to improve his English and to seek out opportunities for the family business, a honey distribution company. The trip, however, had the unintended consequence of sending Hans in a new direction, as he decided to renounce his claims to the family business and embark instead on a career studying and teaching German literature.

His academic career began at San Bernadino Community College, where he received an Associate’s Degree. He completed his Bachelor of Arts at the University of California, Riverside, and then entered graduate school at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, in a program in Germanic Studies. There he met Hanne Groenenberg, a fellow graduate student, and they married in 1970. Their son, Oliver, was born in 1971. In 1973, Hans was hired to teach German in the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Mississippi, where he would work for 35 years. Their son Karsten and daughter Bettina were born in Oxford in 1975 and 1977. Hans had a distinguished career at UM, publishing three books and several articles in the field of eighteenth-century German language and literature, serving as the Secretary-Treasurer of Mississippi’s chapter of the American Association of Teachers of German, serving as the faculty advisor to the German honorary society Delta Phi Alpha, directing the Ole Miss Honors Day for several years, and creating and directing the summer study-abroad program in Jena, Germany. He received the Cora Lee Graham Award for Outstanding Teaching of Freshmen in 1996, which recognized his longstanding excellence in propelling students towards a greater understanding of and appreciation for German language and culture.

An enthusiastic host, he was the driving force behind a number of events that showcased his immigrant heritage, including German Christmas pageants held at the UM Student Union and Oktoberfests celebrated in the field behind his house. He was, above all, devoted to his family, with whom he took long car trips and extended vacations to Europe; spent hours outdoors, often gathering wood for the fireplace; tended a large garden; and for whom he cooked unforgettable meals, usually featuring a lovely soup. These and many other seemingly unimportant undertakings in retrospect appear extraordinary. After retirement, he often was occupied by his project of building a country house whose name, Catalpa, derived from the copse that surrounds it.

He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Hanne Gaycken; his children, Oliver (Caitlin McGrath), Karsten, and Bettina; his sisters Ingelott Craven, Elke (Jochen) Kamrath, and Sigrid Gaycken; his brother Manfred Gaycken; and his grandchildren Iris, Oscar, and Anne Margaret. He was a beloved “uncle daddy” to Heidi, Kai, and Kim Kamrath. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Klaus-Friedrich.

The family would like to express their gratitude to the staff of Enhabit Hospice Care and Nicole Wilson for their invaluable assistance in the final stages of Dr. Gaycken’s life.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to one of Hans’s favored charities—NAMI, Mississippi, 298 Commerce Park Drive, Suite C, Ridgeland, MS 39157 or online at https://namims.org/get-involved/donate/, or the Oxford Animal Resource Center, 413 McElroy Drive, Oxford, Mississippi 38655 or online at https://oxfordarc.org/ .