Stefan Johannes Krieger, 52, of Oakton, died on July 8 of stomach cancer following a brief illness. He and his family have lived in Oakton since 2009.
Born in Germany on Sept. 7, 1966 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Stefan was the son of Louise Antoinette Asselin Krieger and Wolfgang Josef Krieger, emeritus professor of mathematics at the University of Heidelberg. A German-American dual citizen who cherished his European heritage, Stefan spent his adult life in the United States, graduating from Harvard College in 1989 and receiving his PhD in Economics in 1998 from the University of Chicago.
Stefan spent his entire career as a theoretical macroeconomist, first as an assistant professor at Yale University, and then as a hedge fund portfolio manager. He ended his career at Freddie Mac in McLean where, among other work, he developed an industry-leading house price index that was at the core of Freddie Mac's mortgage risk modeling in the aftermath of the 2008 housing crisis.
Economics was Stefan's first love, but his extensive book collection testifies to his other consuming interests: the sciences (particularly physics), mathematics, politics, history and law. He loved intellectual conversation as much as learning, and combining both with a mountain hike was his idea of paradise. He wanted to spend his later years with his family, visiting the world's natural wonders before they were lost to climate change.
He is survived by his wife, Eliza Morss, and three teenage daughters, Alexandra, Helen and Anne. In addition to his parents, Stefan is survived in Germany by a sister, Karin Kaldewey; a brother, Matthias; as well as a nephew and three nieces.
A memorial service will be held in October, in Cambridge, Mass.