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In Memoriam: Hans Fenstermacher – New England Chapter

In Memoriam: Hans Fenstermacher

Photo of Hans Fenstermacher (from LinkedIn)
Hans Fenstermacher/LinkedIn

STC New England is saddened to learn of the passing of Hans Fenstermacher, who died unexpectedly and suddenly on January 15, 2024, in Arlington, Virginia. He is survived by his wife, Janet, his daughter, Amy, and his sons, Sam and Lucas.

Hans was a man of many talents spanning many domains. As he described himself, he was born in 1961 “in front of the Iron Curtain” in Munich, West Germany, and after studying in Leningrad earned a degree in Russian, one of seven languages he learned fluently enough to translate. He later co-founded the Globalization and Localization Association (GALA), which became the world’s largest trade association for language companies, serving as board chair and then CEO. He started ArchiText, a successful translation company,  and invented a formal way of minimalizing English writing that saved companies millions of dollars in translation expenses. He sold ArchiText to TransPerfect, a leading provider of language services and technology solutions, and served as its vice president. Here is an appreciation of Hans from the global language community.

In the STC world, Hans brought technical communication and translation closer together. He was an active contributor to the Boston Chapter and served as its president from 2001–2002, leading the Chapter through the sudden changes in the aftermath of September 11. Hans persuaded me to join the administrative council. During meetings, when someone voted no or abstained, Hans delighted in quoting from the movie “1776” by noting the vote was cast “courteously.” A charismatic personality and speaker, Hans was named an STC Associate Fellow in 2006 and was a regular at the Summit.

There was yet another side to Hans. He always had fun with language, but as the son of an opera singer, he was also a more than proficient keyboardist, singer, and performer. When the Summit began to host open mic nights, he was not content merely to write parody lyrics, but instead took things to an entirely new level of wordplay, musicianship, and performance. The BossTunes, a musical group he organized from Boston Chapter members, showed up in tuxedos, with instruments, and performed carefully rehearsed songs that ranged, in the words of member Val Rushanan, “from the sublime to the ridiculous at the same time.” The BossTunes also entertained locally, at the Boston publications competition awards dinner (which Hans named the STACIs). Here is a regrettably low-quality video from the 2007 dinner, for which Hans wrote and performed a parody of a Frank Loesser song from “Guys and Dolls.” Close your eyes, ignore our shaky backup vocals, and listen to his voice and lyrics. That was Hans.

Taryn Light, a former Chapter president and Associate Fellow, worked with Hans at ArchiText and sang with the BossTunes. She said, “Everyone loved Hans. ‘A gentleman and a scholar’ are only a couple of titles that describe him.  Even more importantly, Hans was a mentor, entertainer, leader, and friend. One of his most enjoyable traits was his spontaneous and very clever sense of humor.  Hans held audiences at the edges of their seats and caused spontaneous laughter with his wit and wisdom. He was a man bigger than life and achieved more than one person could only dream of achieving. His life was an example of excellence that we will carry with us for a lifetime. So, with heartfelt minimalism, ‘Thank you, Hans, for sharing your life with us.  We miss you.’

Written by Steven Jong. Steven Jong is a long-time STC member, former Chapter president, Fellow, and BossTune.