Max Laverne Lake
- Published: July 14, 2025
Shortly after his passing, without input from family, a begrudged family member submitted a brief obituary for Max L. Lake, my father, hero, mentor, best friend and colleague. The submission was filled with errors and misinformation and caused harm to those close to Max. Below is the family obituary for Max L. Lake, with contributions from his wife and biological children.
Max Laverne Lake, 77, passed away peacefully on March 12, 2025 in the arms of the love of his life, Ingeborg Brigitte Lake (Wüstendörfer). Max was preceded in death by parents Delbert Oscar Lake and Agnes Marie Lake and siblings Harry, Clarence and Bill. Max is survived by Inge and his children, Max Dieter and Patrick Delbert; his brothers, Don and Gary; stepchildren, Stephanie Ann Triplett (estranged) and Caroline Helen Gentry (estranged); and grandchildren, Henry Max Lake, Eleanor Liselotte Lake, Lionel James Lake, Katie Triplett, Noah Gentry and Rebecca Gentry.
He was born in Watonga, Oklahoma April 29, 1947 and raised with five brothers, Harry, Clarence Leroy, Don, Bill and Gary. At the age of 6, Max, along with all five of his brothers, contracted polio, which left all the boys with varying degrees of physical disability. Max and his older brother, Clarence LeRoy, were most severely affected; the disease left Clarence with full paralysis in both legs, while Max suffered full paralysis of his right leg, as well as severe spinal deformation. Max’s parents drove him to Warm Springs, Georgia, where a polio treatment facility had been established for the 32nd President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Max spent months away from his family and farmstead while undergoing treatments that included receiving surgery to repair spinal deformation and to fit him for special leg braces attached to a custom shoe, a supportive jacket for his torso, and crutches.
When Max returned to the family farm, he immediately resumed his typical chores, showing his exceptional strength of character, determination and unwillingness to be limited by polio. Once, famously, Max was in the barn milking a stubborn cow which stepped on and crushed Max’s right foot. The next morning, with a newly broken foot, Max was up before all his brothers, milking the cows.
While unable to participate in athletics and many other activities those able-bodied amongst us often take for granted, Max became a student of sports he loved most: baseball, football and basketball; and he excelled as a student scholastically. Max was a prolific reader and a renowned storyteller who, as an adult, was begged by his children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews alike to “tell us a story.”
Max held a deep passion for physical sciences, which he studied at Oklahoma University, receiving a BS and MS in physics, where he began researching advanced materials such as lab-grown diamonds and high-powered lasers. During his college years, the world was still adjusting to providing accessibility for people with disabilities and, with the context of the times, being a handicapped scientist left Max feeling like an outcast. Rather than become bitter, Max befriended other students on campus who felt similarly: scientists and African American student athletes. Not long after, Max and his friends hosted pig roasts on football weekends in what became popular events even amongst the popular students.
Max’s brilliant mind and love of research and development led to a civilian contract research position where he spent significant time on base at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in the Air Force Research Laboratory. Max rose in his organization as a program manager to become vice president, before leaving to start his own company, Applied Sciences, Incorporated (ASI). Founded in 1984, ASI grew an international reputation for excellence in advanced materials development, with a focus on novel carbon materials.
Max founded the business in his farmhouse in Yellow Springs, and after securing his first government contract, set up office space in the Sontag Fels building, a business incubator. Max moved the company to Cedarville in 1990 and launched multiple spin-off companies, one of which — Pyrograf Products, Inc. — grew to become one of the three largest producers of carbon nanofibers in the world, is recognized as “Best in Class” to this day and is now the sole remaining commercial producer of this material in North America. Max’s extraordinary leadership resulted in over two dozen patents, commercialization of numerous products and overseeing qualification of the products into multiple Department of Defense platforms and applications.
Max’s greatest passion, though, was for family. The love and dedication shared between Max and his wife, Inge, was nothing short of beautiful — it was a love that demonstrated constant loving consideration of each other’s needs and wants, and an unshakeable commitment to persevere together. On Feb. 8, Max recruited Henry and Ellie to surprise Inge with flowers, chocolates and gifts to celebrate their 49th anniversary together.
Max and Inge were truly the driving force behind the company’s success, through which they experienced 49 years of travel, adventure, raising kids, helping raise grandkids and tending to the farmstead they bought just outside Yellow Springs in 1980. Max was a loving, patient and endlessly wise father. His quick wit, keen eye and his experiences in hardship lent Max a wonderful sense of humor, and he often let his young sons stay up to watch “Saturday Night Live” with his wife and teenage stepdaughters. Max shared his love of the outdoors with his children, taking them for hikes through Glen Helen, stargazing on the farm, gardening, bird-watching and so much more. Whenever possible, he took family members along with him on business trips, and made sure to highlight the beautiful landscapes, wildlife and unique features for each place they visited.
Family was paramount to Max. He was a father figure to Inge’s daughters when their biological father wasn’t and loved and cared about them as if they were his own. He enjoyed doing chores around his farm with his sons. He was instrumental in helping his namesake son, Max Dieter, get through tough times growing up, and provided crucial support and friendship getting him through several taxing mental health crises. He delighted in taking his grandchildren for golf cart rides on the farm or anything else that involved spending time together.
Max’s labor of love was to tend to the family farm, raising Arabian horses, German shepherds and picturesque landscaping of flowers, trees and native prairie grass. In fact, Max and Inge seeded a pasture with native prairie grass following a business road trip with his son Patrick, where they decided to route through the Kansas prairies to admire the native species and wildlife. Max drove the family John Deere tractor, using a slew of accessories to plow and disc fields, mow pastures, and auger out post holes for fencing. In fact, while his sons were attending the Antioch School as children, Max drove his tractor into town to dig out post holes for the monkey bar equipment that is still standing and which has been enjoyed for decades.
Max loved to go hunting and fishing with his brothers and generally loved the outdoors and was an avid fan of the OU Sooners football team. While traveling became more and more difficult later in life, Max stayed in touch with family, friends and colleagues all over the world and was uplifted by hearing how the people he loved, revered or respected were doing, always sure to relay news to Inge.
Max had a seemingly limitless knowledge base, able to dive into discussions or civil debates on a broad variety of topics, doing so in a charming, engaging and delightful manner regardless of who he was chatting with, be it a server on their first day on the job or Nobel Prize-winning scientists that wanted to make sure to say “hello” and see how Max was. Never one to complain, Max was more interested in the wellbeing of family, friends, employees and their families. He was a fantastic listener and was more than happy to lend his ear or provide a helping hand whenever he could.
Over the last years of his life, post-polio syndrome flared the initial symptoms of paralysis, leading to difficulties breathing and swallowing, coupled with muscular degradation. As such, Max transitioned from crutches to a manual wheelchair in his mid-’60s, then to an electric wheelchair. The last two years of his life, Max was unable to transition on his own from bed to his chair, a duty Inge took on almost entirely by herself. Once a practicing nurse, Inge felt it her duty to provide that care, only occasionally relying on Max’s sons for assistance.
On March 4, while out for appointments and lunch with Inge, Max suffered a cardiac event and was rushed to Kettering Main Intensive Care Unit where he did not regain consciousness. On March 12, Max was taken off life support and passed peacefully, with his wife and youngest son by his side.
Max is dearly missed. His knowledge, kindness, incredible strength, willpower, determination, unyielding optimism and seemingly superhuman endurance were an inspiration to many. He was truly a joy to know.
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