Douglas B. Pledger

Douglas B. Pledger, 85, of Medford, died Saturday, June 27, 2026 at his home.

Douglas Pledger was born in St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, WI on August 25, 1940 to Douglas J. and Erna Marie (Jedamus) Pledger.  He lived in Phoenix, AZ until the age of six when the family moved to Wausau, along with his younger brother.  He was baptized at First Presbyterian Church in Wausau.

Doug attended Wausau Public Schools and graduated in 1958.  He enjoyed Boy Scouts and attended Tesomas Scout Camp near Rhinelander several summers.  He earned the God and Country Scout Award.  He was a member of the high school orchestra where he played string base and worked at the Wausau Public Library.

Doug enrolled at UW-Marathon Center in Wausau for two years.  As a high school honor student, he received a Knapp Scholarship.  He studied astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Colorado in Boulder before returning to UW-Madison to pursue a PhD in nuclear physics.

After passing preliminary examinations, Doug spent three years doing research with the particle accelerator at UW-Madison Dept. of Physics.  His doctoral thesis was Study of Detailed Balance for Atomic Particles As A Test of Time Reversal Invariance.

Doug was employed by MITRE Corporation, a think tank funded by the U.S. Air Force located in Bedford, Massachusetts from 1969 to 1974.  His work required national and international air travel.  He spent 128 days at sea in the South Pacific supervising the observation of detonation of five thermonuclear bombs by the French government.  Data was collected one summer while aboard USS Norton Sound and Wheeling merchant marine another year.

Doug was hired by Honeywell Systems and Research Center in Minneapolis in 1974 where he was employed until 2000.  During years in the Space Defense Subsystems Division, he spent time at Mission Control in Houston, TX communicating with Space Shuttle crews testing a Honeywell patented device.

Doug enjoyed his two children and activities in the Northwoods including tapping maple tree to make syrup.  He taught at the Medford Education Center, National Guard Armory and Mt. Scenario College.  He was a member of the Chequamegon Bird Club and served as president.  A longtime member of the Kaiser Frazer Owners Club, he was fond of his 1953 Kaizer Manhattan auto he bought as a used vehicle in the late 1950’s and recently spent time restoring.  Doug and wife, Willa Kay awarded Starbound Science Scholarships to Medford High School graduates.

He is survived by his wife, Willa Kay; daughter Nicole Hillyer; son Guy; brother Duncan; and nieces.

A memorial service will be held at a later date.  Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society.

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