Trane is Part of the Fiegen Family Legacy

Three generations, five family members and a new trajectory for the future. Don Fiegen, late Trane Engineer, paved the way for his family. Read more about Don's legacy, including two sons and two grandsons.

This Trane generations story is written in honor of Don Fiegen, retired manufacturing engineer and the first Fiegen family member to work for Trane. Sadly, Don passed away on June 18, 2023, at the age of 90, having made a mark on the world and leaving a legacy that will impact future generations of his family forever. Read on for the Fiegen family’s story.

 

Three generations, five family members, and a new trajectory for the future

It only takes one person to change the trajectory of their entire family’s future. In the Fiegen family, that creator and innovator was Don Fiegen.

Don grew up in South Dakota and, after graduating high school, he joined the U.S. Navy and served in the Korean War. After discharge, he returned to South Dakota and worked as a diesel truck mechanic. He met and married Marlene, a nurse, and they started a family.

Don wanted more for his family, so he bought and managed a garbage truck route in Sioux Falls to serve as a source of income while he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He and Marlene raised the kids while they both worked and Don attended school; he graduated early and landed a job as an engineer. A few years later, in 1965, Don was recruited by Trane to work in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and that’s when the legacy begins.

By simply earning his degree in engineering—and accepting a job at Trane—Don changed the trajectory of his family line. He opened the door for his lineage to follow in his footsteps as engineers. Eventually, two of Don’s children, Brian and Greg, and two of his grandchildren, Andrew and Joe, came to work for Trane in different engineering roles. This is their story.

Engineering runs in the family

Brian Fiegen, systems development leader and 40-year Trane veteran, remembers all the tinkering and inventing Don did in his workshop during Brian’s youth.

“My dad was an extreme tinkerer,” Brian said. “He always had a project going on. Designing and building was in his DNA. When I was a kid, he exposed me to Trane through open house events and tours of the lab and acoustics lab—the anechoic chamber especially made an impression on me.

“As a young man, I found math and science interesting, and my dad was my go-to for questions on how things work. All these things led me to a career in engineering.”

From left to right: Joe Fiegen, product development engineer, with his late grandfather, Don, retired manufacturing engineer, and his father, Greg Fiegen, retired manufacturing engineer.
From left to right: Joe Fiegen, product development engineer, with his late grandfather, Don, retired manufacturing engineer, and his father, Greg Fiegen, retired manufacturing engineer.

Brian’s brother Greg Fiegen also became an engineer and retired from Trane in January 2022 after a 38-year career as a manufacturing engineer, just like their dad. Greg’s son Joe Fiegen, product development engineer, looks back on those projects with his grandfather fondly.

“I spent a lot of time with Grandpa in his workshop,” Joe said. “It wasn’t about the finished product, but about the process of designing and building it.”

Joe remembers helping Don design and build a tip-up for ice fishing; it raises a flag when a fish takes the bait. “It’s a $15 item we could easily buy in a store, but Grandpa enjoyed designing and building it himself.”

Don’s inventions include a telescoping topper for a pickup truck bed and a rack system for the top of Greg’s conversion van that makes loading a canoe easier—Greg still uses it 25 years later. Don also built an ice sailboat with ski runners that he test drove on Lake Onalaska in Wisconsin.

“He saw a problem and he went to work solving it,” Joe added.

On becoming an engineer

Brian says if you’re a Fiegen, you tend to become an engineer. (Don’s third child, Brian and Greg’s brother, Mark, was also an engineer and worked for 3M. There are several nurses and teachers in the family, too!) Brian’s son Andrew Fiegen, laboratory engineer, remembers being surrounded by his grandfather, father and uncles at family gatherings—all engineers.

From left to right: Brian Fiegen, systems development leader, with his late father, Don, retired manufacturing engineer, and his son, Andrew, laboratory engineer.
From left to right: Brian Fiegen, systems development leader, with his late father, Don, retired manufacturing engineer, and his son, Andrew, laboratory engineer.

“When I was young, I thought men become engineers and that’s just how it is,” Andrew said. “And to some degree, this felt like the only option. Maybe it’s genetics or just luck, but I excelled in math and science, too, and engineering was a natural fit for me. There wasn’t anything else I wanted to do.”

Joe had a similar experience and doesn’t miss the significance of the outcome.

“There’s a little pressure when you have that much momentum in engineering in the family,” he said. “I enjoyed that time designing and building with Grandpa, and I didn’t know what I would like better, so I went into engineering too.

“When you look around, all of our families are doing well as a result of our careers in engineering,” Joe added. “It’s been a great career choice. We all enjoy a nice work-life balance, earn a good living and serve in fulfilling roles. It touches on everything I want for me and my family.”

Don paved the way

Brian recognizes that his father, Don, sacrificed a lot to be a non-traditional student—working and raising a family while completing his bachelor's degree.

“My dad was such a hard worker,” Brian said. “My mom worked nights as a nurse and my dad worked days—they were a model of worth ethic. The work has paid off when you see how we’ve all made good lives as engineers and can take care of our families’ needs.”

“It all started with him working way harder than I’ve ever had to work. It just takes one person to make a positive impact on an entire family line. For our family, that was Grandpa Don. We all cherish our memories with him.”

Joe Fiegen, Product Development Engineer

“Grandpa set everything in motion—he changed everyone’s lives downstream of him to create a legacy,” Joe added. “We owe it all to Grandpa, and my grandmother, Marlene, for enabling him to pursue an education while raising a young family together. We had it easy because of them. Grandpa made sacrifices for his own life and family and for the generations that followed, enabling a more financially stable situation that allowed his kids and grandkids to get an education. I’m aspiring for that with my own kids.

“It all started with him working way harder than I’ve ever had to work. It just takes one person to make a positive impact on an entire family line. For our family, that was Grandpa Don. We all cherish our memories with him.”