William Ehlers

William Arthur Ehlers, M.D. William A. Ehlers, 91, of Lacey, passed away October 17, 2012. William Arthur Ehlers was born in Omaha, NE on August 31, 1921. He was the sixth and last child born to the marriage of William August Ehlers and Margaret Clara Schork. He received his education in Omaha Public Schools from kindergarten through medical school. He attended North High School, then the University of Omaha and then the University of Nebraska College of Medicine. He received his M.D. degree from that last school on June 16, 1945, after attending school through World War II. He took medical internships at Nix Memorial Hospital in San Antonio and at Cambridge City Hospital, Cambridge, Massachusetts; separated by 19 months of military service as a medical officer, chiefly in the hospital at Goose Bay, Labrador in 1946 and 1947. In 1949 he started a solo family practice in Cuero, Texas. He had met and dated Gail Lucille Hersman while at Nix Hospital, and they reconnected when she worked at a hospital in Kerrville, Texas. They were married May 7, 1950 in Kerrville, Texas and celebrated a honeymoon with an auto trip to Mexico City. Their only child, Susan Lynn Ehlers, was born in Cuero on May 3, 1951. In 1953 during the Korean Conflict, the Air Force decided that they needed his service, despite his futile appeal to Senator Lyndon B. Johnson. He was sent all the way to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, and by October 1953, was "released" again. He and Gail decided to look for greener pastures than drought-stricken Texas, and drove to Nebraska and then to the Northwest. The Washington State Medical Society reported that a prospective site was in Lacey, a small but growing suburb of Olympia, the state capital. They chose Lacey and the businesses there supported their arrival and start of practice. Forty-five years later of family practice finished with retirement in 1998. A significant business adjunct started in joining Robert L. Blume and his wife in starting Capital Development Company in Lacey. This company expanded greatly, building South Sound Center and then thirty plus other commercial centers throughout the United States. After 55 years of agreeably happy marriage, his wife, Gail, passed away early on November 23, 2005. Her gravesite and marker are at Woodlawn Cemetery in Lacey, and his gravesite is next to her. Dr. Ehlers is survived by his daughter, Susan Ehlers. Funeral Services will be at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1925 Boulevard Road S.E., Olympia on Friday, October 26, 2012 at 1:00 p.m., followed by interment at Woodlawn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Red Cross, Providence St. Peter's Foundation, Westminster Presbyterian Church, or your favorite charity. To leave condolences for Susan, please visit www.woodlawn-funeralhome.com.