Alfred Erich Senn

Madison--Professor Emeritus Alfred Erich Senn, age 83, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, 8 March, 2016 in his home, surrounded by his family.

Alfred Erich Senn was born in Madison, Wisconsin 12 April, 1932. His Swiss father, Herr Dr. phil. Alfred Senn and Lithuanian mother, Marija Eva Vedlugaite, along with sisters Marie and Elfrieda Senn had newly emigrated from Lithuania to the US. Al's father joined the German department at the University of Wisconsin, Madison after a very brief stint at Yale. When Al was 7, his father accepted a position with the German department at The University of Pennsylvania and the family moved to Bala-Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. Al grew up speaking Polish, Lithuanian, Russian, and German in his home and English in school.

Al was deeply interested in Eastern European political history, WWII espionage in Switzerland, and later the influence of politics on sports. He received a BA in 1953 from the University of Pennsylvania and then both an MA (1955) and Ph.D. (1958) from Columbia University in Soviet Studies. He taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1961-2008 and retired as Professor Emeritus. He also taught as Doctor Honoris Causa at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas.

Al was a prolific historian--he authored eight books and over 150 articles, encyclopedia entries, reviews, commentaries and essays over his career. He was also intellectually curious and widely respected--his involvement in topics often extended far beyond his pen. Little did Al know when he wrote his doctoral thesis on The Emergence of Modern Lithuania (1959) that the work would be heavily referenced 30 years later by leaders looking to reestablish Lithuanian independence (this time from the Soviet Union). His relationship with the fledgling independence movement grew and resulted in a riveting first-hand account of the struggles over glasnost and perestroika in his book Lithuania Awakening (1990). With the support of a gift from his sister and brother-in-law in the early 1990s, he established a "Senn Scholars" program to host young Lithuanian scholars at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Al's works extended beyond political history into sports. His book Power, Politics, and the History of the Olympics (1999)--an insightful exploration of how modern Olympic Games became an arena for ideological as well as athletic competition--is standard reference for historians of modern sport and the ground-breaking research formed the foundation of his now legendary course on sports history. Al's foray into sports history led to a role he thoroughly enjoyed--acting as an interpreter for European athletes competing in the US such as Arvydas Sabonis (Lithuanian basketball) and the Soviet hockey teams. Over the years Al's works earned him numerous honors and awards, but there was one in particular that deserves mention: in 2004, Al (Alfredas Erichas Sennas to Lithuanians) was awarded the Officer of the Order of Vytautas the Great Cross by the country's president. Al was deeply honored to be recognized by Lithuania for his "distinguished services to the State" and touched that family members traveled with him to witness the ceremony.

For all of Al's success in academics, what he loved most was his family--he would do anything for family and enjoyed nothing more than spending time with them. When his children were young, Al received extended research grants abroad and took the whole family with him to live first in Germany and later Switzerland. As his children grew up, he never missed an opportunity to brag about them. And as his children became parents, he redoubled his enthusiastic sharing of grandchildren accomplishments to whomever would listen and proudly sported the title emblazoned on his prize baseball cap--"Opa".

Al loved telling stories, reading books, teaching, writing, music, and sharing a beer (and an evening) with friends. His knowledge of historical events and leaders was unbelievably deep and he was always ready to debate (and patiently explain) both past and current events. He was an avid Badger and Packer fan, but couldn't bear to watch them lose--if they weren't on their game, he had to turn them off.

Al is survived by his wife of 59 years, LaVonne Ann Young Senn and loving family including children: Ann Senn (Mark Ambrosen), Eric Senn, Theresa Senn Hendrickson (Jon Hendrickson), and Tom Senn (Mark Manion) along with grandchildren: Matt Senn (Erika Mikulec), Christina Senn, Molly Senn Sygulla (Will Klein), Kaiya Senn Sygulla, Breanna Senn Hendrickson, Delaney Senn Ambrosen, and Zachary Senn Ambrosen. Al is also survived by an extended family of very dear relations and friends across the US, Lithuania, Germany, Switzerland, and other parts of Europe. He will be deeply missed by many.

A funeral service will be held on Monday, 14 March, 2016 at Blessed Sacrament Church, 2115 Rowley Avenue, Madison. The family will greet friends from 10-10:45am followed by a blessing at 10:45 and a Mass of Christian Burial from 11-12.

The family will host a celebration of Al's life on 12 April, 2016 (Al's birthday) at The Madison Club, 5 E. Wilson St. An open house will be held from 5:30 p.m. until 10:00 p.m., with a Tribute to Al at 7:00 p.m. Please RSVP by 3 April to celebrate.al.senn@gmail.com, and if you have a story or photo to share, please e-mail that to Al's family as well.

Should friends desire, contributions may be made to support the work of UW Physical Therapy students in Uganda. Al's granddaughter Kaiya and 7 of her classmates will be spending 3 weeks in May volunteering and learning at a hospital and an orphanage.
Mail to:
UWDPT Global Health Program attn.: Kaiya Sygulla
1300 University Ave Room 5185
Madison, WI 53706


Cress Funeral & Cremation Service
3610 Speedway Road, Madison
608-238-3434

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