PROFESSOR GERALD F. DOEBBLER

On July 23, 2021, Gerald 'Jerry' Francis Doebbler left this world at aged 89 on the last of his many journeys, this time to paradise with his triplet daughters at his side.Jerry was born on June 27, 1932, at Santa Rosa Hospital to Frank and Vivian Doebbler in San Antonio. Before he was a teenager, he had acquired a love for chemistry. He did experiments in his backyard and devoured books, advice, and materials he could get for his chemistry experiments. He attended Brackenridge High School excelling in science and graduating at the top of his class in 1949, commended for his inquisitive mind. As class valedictorian he was awarded a scholarship to the University of Texas at Austin but gave it to another needy student and attended Trinity University on a scholarship for two semesters before transferring to UT Austin. He returned to the Alamo City to end his career as a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Incarnate Word. He earned his Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, studying for the latter under Professor Roger J. Williams. After graduating, he married Dr. Thelma K. Doebbler, from El Paso, and they moved Buffalo, New York. Thelma and Jerry had seven children but divorced in 1984. Jerry had a life-long commitment to education and helped put all seven of his children through college. His three triplet daughters all graduated from universities in Texas. Jerry worked for Union Carbide eventually becoming the senior research scientist. He was a lifetime member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) and organized or participated in several large meetings of the ACS in San Antonio. After retiring from Union Carbide, Jerry returned to Texas to help build the department of chemistry at the University of Incarnate Word where he taught for a decade before retiring. He published numerous important papers in the field of biochemistry and cryobiology, especially blood preservation. His papers can be viewed at https://curt1313.wixsite.com/geralddoebbler.Even in retirement however Jerry kept busy visiting his seven children across the country and around the world. He was committed to his children and much loved for kindness and concern for the family. For twenty-five years Jerry travelled across the United States by Amtrak train and flew abroad to visit his children. His travels took him to the Netherlands, Belgium, Mexico, Germany, Austria, France, Palestine, Israel, Italy, Egypt, Turkey, and Switzerland. He was an avid photographer and left behind a significant collection of pictures, postcards, and memorabilia from his travels.Jerry was a devoted Catholic in the parish of Saint Cecilia's on Presa Street. A memorial service will be held for him at a future date to be decided.Jerry is survived by his former wife Thelma, and his children, Curtis and his spouse Flavia, Eric and Kelly, Eulalia (Ralph) and her spouse Jonathan, Michael and his spouse Anne, Maureen, Brenda (Meyers) and her spouse Scott, and Teresa (Larson) and her spouse Ric, survive Jerry. Also surviving Jerry are grandchildren Jacqueline and Brian Ralph, Savannah and Frankie Meyers, Michael, Jr., and Haley Larson. Jerry is also survived by his niece Leslie and Clive Twyman, his nephew Drew and Dina Doebbler, and his niece Robin and Jesus Tellez. Jerry was predeceased by his father Frank, his mother Vivian (nee Rilling) and his brother Tommy Ray. In lieu of flowers, donations in Jerry's memory can be made to the American Indian College Fund (collegefund.org), Americans for Middle East Understanding (ameu.org), one of the charities associated with St. Cecilia's Catholic Church (https://www.archsa.org/parishes/st.-cecilia), or the Alzheimer's Association.