George F. Doehler

Born November 20, 1943

Born into eternal life October 13, 2012

Private memorial services were held with immediate family on Friday, October 19, 2012.

Survived by his loving wife, Laurie; his daughter Michelle Doehler Schaeffer; his son, Michael (Julie DeReu) Doehler.

In lieu of flowers, please send memorial gifts in his name to the Salvation Army to support their holiday campaign or the Make a Wish Foundation.

George was born in Milwaukee, WI to Helen and George J who were both German immigrants. He didn’t learn English until he was in kindergarten. His family only spoke German at home.

He graduated high school from Custer High School in Milwaukee, WI. Following high school he went briefly to Milwaukee School of Engineering prior to entering the Air Force. He was a Vietnam Era Veteran. After basic training, we was stationed OK and then at Ramstein Air Base in Germany and his last duty station was at Luke Air Field in Phoenix, AZ. Even though there was no air conditioning on the base, George developed a great love for the desert West and dreamed of living there again, which he and Laure did later in life.

While in the Air Force, George developed a passion for medicine. He was an Emergency Room Technician and Operating Room Scrub Technician. When he left the Air Force, he worked at St. Michael’s hospital in Milwaukee as a Patient Care Technician while going to college. This is where he met my mother. They shared a great love together for 43 years of marriage. Their love was a blessing to watch.

George completed his pharmacy degree and continued to serve the community with his passion for medicine. He owned a pharmacy briefly and then started his long career with Walgreen’s, where he retired from in 2009.

Early in the morning October 13th, when there was a brief moment of quiet, Dad slipped into his eternal rest. He battled cancer for several years and we knew our time with him was limited. Yet somehow it always seems that there was more to be said and one last moment that you wish you would have had together. Dad left this earth knowing that he was going into the arms of our Lord. Every day we watched him bravely battle but strongly face his mortality leaning upon his faith in God.

He taught us to stand on our own, always to be strong, to believe good intentions of others and showed us what it looked like to have a beautiful relationship with God. He also showed us what it was to have a devoted and loving and lasting marriage. He was a smart man of science, who found his love and passion in serving his community through pharmacy. He showed us what it was to be strong in yourself and your faith. He always put family first and loved us deeply. He shared a deep and lasting love with our mother. It was amazing to watch as every year their love together grew deeper.

In his last few months, he was blessed to have had many new and deep friendships. He was blessed to have been able to spend most of that time with us all celebrating life and enjoying God’s world. I know that he would have wanted me to say thank you to everyone who touched his life.

We will miss you Dad more than my words can say.