Kem Hainebach

Kem Hainebach, a physicist and 35-year Lab employee, died March 27 after a courageous battle with lung cancer. He was 61.

Born in Welsh, La. on June 18, 1947, Hainebach had worked at the Lab as a nuclear weapons physicist, working in both nuclear weapon design and nuclear waste engineering.

He earned a bachelor’s of science degree in physics from Loyola University of New Orleans and a doctorate of nuclear astrophysics from Rice University in Houston, Texas. He had collaborated with David Schramm, astrophysicist and physics professor at the University of Chicago. Newsweek magazine contained an article about their collaboration on research done with carbon dating to determine the expansiveness of the universe.

Hainebach enjoyed overseas travel for both work and play. He was passionate about opera (and, in particular, the San Francisco Opera) and his hobby of birding. In 1992, he was credited with the first California sighting and monitoring of the Xantu Hummingbird which he first saw during one of his summers birding in Johannesburg, South Africa, an area Hainebach returned to many times.

He was an active volunteer with the Stop AIDS Project of San Francisco. He loved life in the Castro District and was concerned and involved in bettering the quality of life in the community. His wonderful wit and unique personality will be missed by all.

He is survived by his sister, Anne (Hainebach) Davidoff and her husband Ronnie; nephews Andy, Ben and Scott; great nephews, Jake and Evan, family members Fran Adams of Menlo Park and Cindy Adams, and many close friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents Harold and Annie Hainebach, and life partner, Al Adams.

A memorial service and a celebration of Hainebach’s life will be held in San Francisco on Friday, May 1, at the Swedenborgian Church, 2107 Lyon St. (corner of Washington Street) at 2 p.m. The scattering of his ashes will be held on May 2 at 11:30 a.m. There is limited space for these events. Please stevenabbott [at] sbcglobal.net (RSVP).

Contributions in his memory may be made to the San Francisco Stop AIDS Project.