Audrey Lincourt Schiebler

1933 - 2015

SCHEIBLER Audrey Lincourt Schiebler died peacefully at her home in Amelia Island on June 19th at the age of 82 years. She was a renowned child advocate, devoted wife, mother and charming Mimi to her grandchildren. A longtime resident of Gainesville Florida, the family moved to Amelia Island in 2001 to be by her beloved Atlantic ocean. Mrs. Schiebler was born in Newport, Rhode Island in 1933 to Hilda Irene (Johnson) and Leo George Lincourt. She attended St. Catherine's Academy for girls, and was a graduate of the Newport Hospital School of Nursing. While on an obstetrical rotation at Providence Lying-In Hospital, she met the special man to whom she was married for sixty-one years: Gerold (Gerry) L. Schiebler, M.D. She continued her nursing career until their first child was born in Boston. The family moved to Gainesville, Florida from Rochester, Minnesota in 1960 so that her husband could serve on the faculty of the new University of Florida College of Medicine. Her children were raised in Gainesville; and she began a long and distinguished volunteer career - primarily as a child advocate. Audrey served as President of the University of Florida Medical Guild, Medical Auxiliary and Junior League of Gainesville. Through the Association of Junior Leagues, she conducted a national survey to identify the current status of the local, state and national support services for children. The results of this survey led Audrey and others to form the Alachua County Council on Child Abuse. Then, though their lobbying efforts, the State of Florida Guardian ad Litem (GAL) was legislatively enacted. This was the first GAL program in the United States to achieve statewide status and associated funding. Audrey was then hired as the first Director of the Eighth Judicial Circuit GAL program. She served on the boards of numerous organizations: Special Committee for the Legal Needs of Children, the Governors Constituency for Children, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Advisory Committee, the Florida Center for Children and Youth, the Florida Bar Foundation, the Florida Sheriffs Boys and Girls Ranches. In addition, for 20 years, Audrey was the Vice Chair of The Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida. Audrey was also tapped for several national boards including the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse, the National Committee of Council for Children and the International Board of the Junior Leagues. Audrey and Gerry were leaders in the building of the Ronald McDonald House in Gainesville for families with children hospitalized at Shands Hospital. Audrey also worked with Paul Newman and General Norman Schwarzkopf to establish the Boggy Creek Camp for children with chronic illnesses. The Boggy Creek Camp was part of Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall, philanthropic efforts on the behalf of children in need. She was awarded the Medal of Honor by the Florida Bar Foundation in 1990, Florida Blue Key- Honorary Member, and The American Academy of Pediatrics- Honorary Fellow. From 1987-2000 she was on the staff of the University of Florida's Institute for Child Health Policy. She and her husband received several statewide advocacy awards and these included the following: 1997 The Sharon Solomon Child Advocate Valor Award - presented by the Florida Center for Children and Youth; 1998- The Rhea Chiles Award - presented to Florida's Finest- Gerry and Audrey Schiebler by the Governor of the State of Florida (Lawton Chiles); 2012 The Chiles Advocacy Award -presented by the Children's Advocacy Organization of Florida; 2012- and The Child Advocate of the Year Award - presented by Florida's Children First, Inc. After Dr. Schiebler's retirement from the University of Florida College of Medicine in 2001, they moved to Amelia Island, FL, where they had summered with their family for many years. Fulfilling her lifelong wish, they lived overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Her personal biographical notes, written previously, were: Having been educated in nursing, both pediatric and obstetrical, and having six children of my own, it was natural for me to become interested in child advocacy. I received most of my training and early experience through the Junior League, and again I was in the right place. In the mid 70s the Association of Junior Leagues conducted a national survey of services for children. Carole Zegel and I, who had not previously met, were teamed up in Alachua County to survey this community. The two of us became two peas in a pod (literally) and became so involved that we organized a community based not-for-profit organization, which led eventually to the development of the State of Florida's Guardian Ad Litem Program. This program has become a national model, since Florida was the first state to fund this program statewide. I have served on 39 local, state, national and international boards. I am currently involved with the Domestic Violence Center in Nassau County (Micah's Place) and was Vice Chair of the Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida. My interests are many. I enjoy reading, walking on the beach, contemplating the moon and stars, sipping champagne and cherishing babies. I love to cook and be creative in my daily life. I like organizational work; and I am good at processing information and organization development. Gerry and I have 17 grandchildren and one great grandson, who are the loves of my life. On January 8th 2105, Gerry and I celebrated our 61st wedding anniversary. She leaves her husband of 61 years Dr. Gerold L. Schiebler. Together they had six children: Mark Lincourt Schiebler, M.D., (Susan L. Rebsamen M.D.) of Madison ,Wisconsin; Marcella Schiebler Caswell (John Caswell Jr.) of Gainesville Florida; Kristen Loring Wharton of Jacksonville, FL; Bettina Schiebler Brown, (George W Brown IV, M.D.) of Atlanta, Ga; Wanda Schiebler Corcoran (John Baring Corcoran) of New Canaan, CT.; and Michele Schiebler Cook (Robert Patterson Cook, Sr.) of Jacksonville, FL.. She had seventeen grandchildren: Brianne Lise Schiebler- Claude, Lirra Corinthe Schiebler, Ava Marie Schiebler, Adam Rebsamen Schiebler, Kelly Lynn Caswell, Gerold Thomas Wharton, Kristen Michele Wharton, George (Quin) Washington Brown, V , Grace Katherine Brown, Garnet Elise Brown, John Joseph Corcoran, II, Henry Lincourt Corcoran, Charles Baring Corcoran, Mary Chatterton Corcoran, William Burgess Cook, Robert Patterson Cook, Jr., Caroline Michele Cook; and one great grandson, Desmond Lincourt Hippolyte Claude. She has two surviving sisters Nancy Lincourt Braga and Judith Lincourt Phelps, both of Melbourne, Florida. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to: C.H.I.L.D., Inc. (Children's Healthcare Is a Legal Duty, Inc. 136 Blue Heron Place, Lexington, KY - 40511, www. Childrenshealthcare.org. Please share her life legacy and leave your memories and condolences at www.oxleyheard.com OXLEY - HEARD FUNERAL DIRECTORS