Udo Heinz Nattermann

BLOOMINGTON – Udo Heinz Nattermann, Assistant Professor of English at the University of Indianapolis, passed away in Bloomington on June 15, 2012. He was born in Mönchengladbach, Germany, on August 6, 1959, the son of Magdalena Johanna Nattermann and Karl Heinz Nattermann. Udo came to Indiana University as an exchange student in 1984 while studying American literature and philosophy at the Free University of Berlin where he received dual M.A. degrees in American Studies and Philosophy in 1986. He then emigrated to the United States. He married Wen-ling Liu on March 14, 1987, and they have two children. In 1993, he obtained a Ph.D. in American Literature from Indiana University. For the past twenty years, Udo had taught courses on writing, world literature, and special topics related to American culture. He was an inspiring and thoughtful teacher, and students would often take several of his classes. He was persistent with his research while maintaining a heavy teaching load during the academic year. In recent years, his research was focused on cross-cultural encounters and political ideologies as reflected in literary texts. He had published essays dealing with international fiction and travel narratives, including articles on James Fennimore Cooper, Nathaniel Hawthorne, David Porter, Mark Twain, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. An essay about ecological boundaries in science fiction is forthcoming. However, above all, Udo was a loving and supportive husband, a caring father to his two children, and an endearing son to his ailing mother. He would take walks with his wife either around the neighborhood or on the IU campus. He was a music lover and sports fan. He played soccer regularly for years until he injured one of his Achilles tendons. In addition to playing soccer, he also supported his children in their sporting events, often driving hours to and from events. He also enjoyed watching football, basketball, and soccer on TV. Udo is survived by his wife of 25 years, Wen-ling Liu; by his son, Nicolas Nattermann and daughter, Una Nattermann, all of Bloomington. In addition, he is survived by his mother, Magdalena Nattermann; sister, Ute Tillenburg of Dűsseldorf, Germany; brother, Ronald Kreutz of Cologne, Germany; parents-in-law, Chang-Po Liu and Cheng-Chin Yang; three sisters-in-law, Ilona Kreutz, Wen-Lii Liu, and Chun-Ru Liu; four brothers-in-law, Gereon Tillenburg, Bin-Bin Liu, Chien-Bin Liu, and Chia-Jen Hu; and ten nieces and nephews, Nicole Kreutz, Mirco Kreutz, Robin Tillenburg, Roxana Tillenburg, Joseph Hu, Annie Hu, Albert Liu, Alex Liu, Ying-Tong Liu, and Yen-Ting Liu. A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, June 23, at 11:00 a.m., with visitation at 10:00 a.m. at Day Funeral Home, 4150 East 3rd Street, Bloomington. The burial will take place following the service at Valhalla Memory Gardens, 310 N. Johnson Avenue, Bloomington. Memorial contributions may be made to the Doctors Without Borders http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/ or to the Hospice of Bloomington Hospital (http://www.bloomingtonhospitalfoundation.org/initiatives/hospice-house/) for its end-of-life care. Online condolences to the family may be given at www.DaysFuneralServices.com.