Lloyd R Wackerling

Lloyd R. Wackerling, an astronomer, statistician, husband, father, grandfather, and longtime resident of Evanston, Illinois, died in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 18, 2026. He was 89 years old.

Lloyd was born on February 9, 1937, in Providence, Rhode Island, to Florence Breed and Walter Wackerling. He attended Brown University and went on to earn a master’s degree in astronomy from the University of Michigan.

Lloyd’s astronomical research included observations associated with the Gemini X, XI, and XII space missions. His work examined emission features in the spectra of stars and contributed to the broader effort to understand stellar properties through spectroscopy during an era of rapidly expanding astronomical observation. In 1970, Lloyd published A Catalogue of Early-Type Stars Whose Spectra Have Shown Emission Lines, an extensive compilation of more than 5,000 stars (The Wackerling Catalog.) The catalogue brought together observations and identifications of emission-line stars from numerous astronomical surveys and became an important reference for subsequent research on Be stars and other hot, emission-line stars. Lloyd also published two related papers in the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific concerning the inferred presence of Balmer emission features in early-type stars. Lloyd’s work has been cited by fellow astronomers for decades.

After his work in astronomy, Lloyd applied his intellect to another field, serving for many years as a statistician for the American Hospital Association in Chicago. He and his wife of 57 years, Vida, made their home in Evanston, Illinois, where they lived from 1968. Lloyd and Vida raised two children, Nadja and Andrew, and built a family life characterized by affection, intellectual curiosity, and a broad range of interests. Vida predeceased Lloyd in 2021.

An avid reader, Lloyd was a practitioner of tsundoku, the Japanese tradition of acquiring books and allowing them to accumulate. His collection was a remarkable library encompassing science, history, philosophy, and poetry, reflecting the breadth of his curiosity and his lifelong appetite for ideas.

His interests extended equally into music. Lloyd had broad musical tastes, with particularly strong preferences for classical music and jazz. Over the years he built a collection of approximately 600 LP records, which he enjoyed listening to with his family, especially during his later years in Atlanta.

For relaxation, Lloyd enjoyed sports of all kinds, for the pleasure of watching the competition, and with a keen interest in statistics, rosters and management of teams far and wide. He also appreciated life's everyday pleasures, including two beers with a homemade dinner.

From 2024, Lloyd lived in Atlanta with his daughter, Nadja Aquino, and her husband, John. There he was surrounded by family, music, books, conversation, and the many interests that had enriched his life.

Lloyd is survived by his daughter, Nadja Aquino (John), his son, Andrew Wackerling (Jessika), his four grandchildren, Melita Aquino, Thomas Aquino, Luke Wackerling, and Dylan Wackerling, his brother Alan Wackerling, his sister Sarah Tyler (Bill), his sister-in-law Robin, and his niece Heather. Lloyd was predeceased by his brother David Wackerling, and his sister-in-law Marcie.

Lloyd will be remembered as a devoted husband and father, a proud grandfather, a thoughtful scientist and statistician, and a man who found pleasure in learning, listening to music, watching sports, sharing a meal, and spending time with the people he loved.