George W. Schemm M.D.

George Walker Schemm, M.D.

Dec. 18, 1930- Aug. 12, 2014

"He was a man, take him for all in all. I shall not look upon his like again."- Hamlet

George Walker Schemm, M.D., was born Dec. 18, 1930, in Ann Arbor, Mich., and took his final hike on this earth Aug. 12, 2014 in Portland with his beloved wife of 47 years, Janet, by his side. Son of Ferdinand Ripley Schemm M.D., and the celebrated novelist Mildred Walker Schemm, George and his older sister, Ripley, and his younger brother, Christopher, spent their happiest years exploring their Missouri river property, Beaverbank, in Great Falls, Mont. George felt most himself in the nearby Rocky Mountains at the family cabin "The Tupa." This magical place fostered in George a deep love and fierce protectiveness of wilderness that lives on in his daughters and grandchildren. George's illustrious career as a neurosurgeon began with an undergraduate degree from Yale and an M.D. from the University of Michigan in 1955, where he also completed his residency in neurosurgery. From 1961 to 1963, George was at Travis Air Force where he discovered his lifelong passion for flying. From 1963 to 1968, he was the associate professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Oregon medical school where he met and married Janet Stinson, who became his "partner for life." Together, they moved to Philadelphia where he was head of the Division of Neurosurgery at the Medical College of Pennsylvania. It was here that they started their family with the birth of their first daughter, Jennifer Ripley, followed by Elise "Ici" Walker and Joanna Morgan. George and Janet then moved back to Great Falls where their final daughter, Jessica Merrifield, was born and George was in private practice from 1972 to 1990. George's patients remembered his kindness and bedside manner as much as his surgical skills. After moving back to Portland in 1990, George retired from the practice of medicine in 1991.

Most at home in the mountains, George was a deeply compassionate and kind man whose quiet humility always shone through in both actions and words. He and Janet enjoyed over 20 years of retirement together traveling to exotic locations with dear friends, living for weeks at a time at their cabin on the Front and watching their grandchildren grow. His love of opera, good puns, Shakespeare, Star Trek and family were constants in his life. He loved quoting from plays, with one of his favorite lines being from King Lear, "Sharper than a serpent's tooth is the tongue of an ungrateful child" said in a gleeful tone while looking at his daughters.

George is survived by his wife, Janet; daughters, Jennifer (Wes), Elise "Ici,", Joanna (Ivan) and Jessica (James); brother, Christopher (Denize); grandchildren, Annie, Arthur, Anastasia, Natasha, Nikolai, George, Josephine, Abraham and Theodore; and numerous family and friends will celebrate his life in the Rocky Mountains in the summer of 2015.

The Schemm family would like to thank Hospice Care of the northwest, the incredible caring staff, chef and residents at the Adam's House, Oatfield Estates and special thanks to Todd, George's personal caregiver at home and at Adam's House. Memorial donations may be made to the George W. Schemm Foundation at the Benefis Health System Foundation in Great Falls, Mont., established for the continuing education of surgical staff, or to the charity of their choice.

"Live long and prosper my friend." Please leave a message at www.anewtradition.com under Schemm.