June 9, 1944 - April 11, 2022

Gil Fulmer, 77 years old, died unexpectedly in his home on April 11, 2022. Gil was born in Kansas City, Missouri, but lived most of his life in Texas.

He was married to his beloved wife, the late Dr. Lynne Fulmer, for forty-three years.

Gil received his doctorate in philosophy from Rice University. Gil was highly influenced by David Hume, the 18th-century Scottish Enlightenment philosopher who is best known today for his philosophical empiricism, skepticism, and naturalism. His doctoral dissertation was a critique of Ludwig Wittgenstein, considered by some to be the greatest philosopher of the 20th century. Gil taught philosophy at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, for more than forty years and retired in 2015. He had a positive impact on thousands of students during his career.

Gil was a generous supporter of many organizations, including the Hays Caldwell Women's Center, School Fuel, the Democratic Party, Hays County Freethinkers Association, PFLAG, the Hays County Child Protective Board, and the San Marcos Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.

Gil lived his life the way he wanted. He was independent, loyal, and willing to help others. Gil did the jobs that no one wanted to do, such as setting up the chairs for a meeting. He did these jobs without complaining.

Gil was a sincere atheist and attended the San Marcos Unitarian Universalist Fellowship regularly. He loved to discuss religion, philosophy, and politics, but he was always good-natured in these conversations.

He is survived by his younger sister Jan Manley (and her husband?) and by Lynne's brother-in-law (his name?). He leaves behind many friends in the community who loved him and held him in high regard. His beloved German shepherd dog Rolf also survives him.

A Grief Circle will be held by the San Marcos Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Gil's honor at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, April 22, on the back deck of the First Christian Church, 3105 Ranch Road 12, San Marcos.

A Flower Communion will be held Sunday, April 24, at 1:00 p.m. at the First Christian Church, honoring Gil's life. There will be dedicated music and stories told at a potluck picnic following the service.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by San Marcos Daily Record from Apr. 21 to May 5, 2022.

Memories and Condolences
for Gilbert Fulmer

3 Entries

Mareta (Rita) Chmabers

June 2, 2022

I only recently discovered that Gil passed away in April 2022. I am Gil´s sister-in-law (Lynne´s sister) and live in Dayton, Maryland. I was reaching out to Gil, as my brother, Bob Wilkins, recently (May 25, 2022) passed away unexpectedly at his home in Round Rock, Texas. I was so shocked and saddened to discover that Gil was also no longer with us.

Gil was my brother-in-law for over 50 years. He and Lynne were always there for the big moments in our lives - weddings, funerals, graduations, new babies, moves. My husband, Joe, and I most often saw Lynne and Gil at my parents´ lake cottage at Lake Livingston, Texas. We shared many nights out on the deck, with lots of stories and laughter.

Lynne and Gil were always so kind and welcoming to my brother, Bob - included him in holiday celebrations and provided a place to stay when he needed it. After Lynne´s passing in 2010, Gil and Bob spent lots of time together. On several occasions he invited Bob to accompany him to Philosophy conventions where Gil would present a paper - then the two of them would vacation in the area. I remember that one of these visits was to Maine where Gil and Bob rented a cabin out in the woods and stayed there for a week.

One of my most vivid remembrances of Gil was when we moved my Mother, Susan Wilkins, from her home in Huntsville, Texas, to the Summit in Austin, around 2007. Gil took the lion´s share of helping with the move and arranging furniture in her new apartment. She had a large oriental screen that she wanted to hang over her couch in the living room. Just nailing it up and eyeballing the placement simply was not acceptable to Gil. He used tacks and strings to figure out the exact placement and to ensure that the screen was perfectly centered and leveled. The result (of course) was perfect. I believe that example well illustrates Gil´s methodical and reasoned approach to life.

I am so sorry to hear of Gil´s passing. Joe and I want to convey our condolences to his sister and other members of his family. We are both glad to have been his in-laws for so many years.

You can view my brother Bob´s obituary at the following link: Robert Leonard Wilkins Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information (shmfh.com)

Mareta (Rita) Wilkins Chambers, Dayton MD

Keith Lovin

April 24, 2022

Gil and I became friends in Graduate School at Rice in 1966. We became best friends and had countless adventures together, studying and and pursuing various passions that helped sustain us during this academically rigorous time. Gil and I, along with his wife, Lynne, and my wife, Marsha, traveled together, dined together, supported various "causes" we cared about together, and really, were pretty much inseparable. Our friendship continued at Texas State University where we both served as professors of philosophy. Even though Marsha and I moved on to other universities beginning in 1981, we remained closely connected for many years. After I retired in 2005 and we moved back to Texas we shared time in each other´s home, including their lake house in Seguin. During all those years we created a store house of good memories that will stay with us to the end of our lives. Some of them are described below.

Food! We loved to explore food and wine and Lynne was an amazing cook. We still have and use recipes that Lynne wrote in her own hand. We took turns creating what we imagined was "fine dining" although we made it a practice to always have pizza money at the ready in case of a disaster. Such as the time they dined with us at our apartment in Houston and the live snails I bought in order to prepare escargot escaped the pot in which I was to separate the "live" from the "dead" ones, and found them climbing up the cabinets in our kitchen! On a camping trip to Lake Sam Rayburn one weekend Lynne prepared cheese fondue to enjoy along with our wine and steak. Food and wine were subjects of major exploration during our formative years in grad school. Also, Gil and I set out to discover the "best" bourbon it was possible to buy. Whether we succeeded or not, countless blind tasting tests rendered us pretty well versed when it came to bourbon.

Gil was also extremely capable when it came to making things or fixing things, something I have always been inept at in the extreme. When I would tell him I was going to take my car to the shop, he would berate for even considering such a thing. "Bring it over," he would say. And then, sweat soaked bandana around his head he would go to work scaring his knuckles when a wrench slipped off, or when some something didn´t work, cursing with elegance murmuring "I have done this 300 times and I have never seen this!" He claimed to enjoy this but I always thought that his language and behavior were quire at odds.

Then, when major back surgery while at Rice required that I either stand or lie down, but not sit for 6 months, he built a thing for me to stand in that would tilt back several degrees and had a writing board across the arms rests for holding books and for writing. When I finally no longer needed it, my orthopedic surgeon bought it for use by other patients. That is a testimony to our friendship and to his creativity and skill.

The last time I saw Gil was at Ev Swinney´s funeral. Ev was an icon history professor at Texas State, an academician par excellence. We had lunch beforehand and had a great conversation. Afterwards, we hugged, shared our deep affection for the other, and parted ways. We lost touch in spite of my efforts to reconnect.

Gil, I love you man,

Keith

P.S. I very much regret not being able to attend the services for Gil. I have been Montana and did not return in time. I am grateful that Marsha was able to be there and represent me too. In honor of Gil, Marsha is preparing for dinner tomorrow night one of Lynne´s recipes which remains a favorite of ours for comfort food, Stuffed Bell Peppers.

Mike Orenduff

April 22, 2022

Gil was a good friend and and an excellent colleague. He was a brilliant thinker and a down-to-earth person, a combination as rare as it is pleasant. He and Lynne were one of the happiest couples my wife Lai and I have known. Forty years after leaving San Marcos, we still remember them fondly.

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