Eugene "Doc" Schaller

Eugene H. “Doc” Schaller of La Crosse fell asleep in Jesus and joined his parents and departed siblings in their heavenly home on June 22, 2015, at the age of 90 years, 9 months and 12 days.
Doc was born in Renville, Minn., to Pastor Herbert and Irene Schaller. As an infant, he was made a child of God in the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. Fittingly, that baptism was administered by his father, Pastor Schaller.
As an eighth grader, he confessed his personal faith in Jesus as his Savior, as he was confirmed in the Christian faith that remained his strength until he died. He attended and graduated with honors from Tomah High School in 1941. After high school and while in college he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He attended La Crosse Teachers’ College, Lawrence University and the University of Wisconsin earning his Master’s degree and graduating with honors in 1948.
In 1945, Doc married Shirley nee’ Woodliff in Norwalk, Wis. They lived in a variety of Wisconsin communities while he was first a biology professor at UW Wausau and then at Northland College in Ashland. He then worked for the Du Pont Corp. as a researcher at the Barksdale plant. As a lifelong student, Doc began his next career after being accepted at Logan Chiropractic School in St. Louis, Mo. The family lived in St. Charles, Mo., until he finished his degree, again graduating with honors. Doc passed his Board Exams in 1960. The family then moved to the La Crosse area which has been home ever since. He was an associate in the Barge Chiropractic clinic and also had a single practice for many years, not retiring until he was well into his 70’s .
A lifelong nature enthusiast, Doc enjoyed fishing, gardening, traveling with Shirley all over the U.S. and even to Europe, and commuting by bike long before it became fashionable and “green.” During the last year he enjoyed riding his trike, snowshoeing on winter trails, and even visited Washington, DC, this past April. Their traveling companions on their most recent trips were their son Jeff and wife Ann who helped them to re-achieve their mobility and sense of adventure that they feared had been lost due to age. Those final trips – both the long ones and the day trips – greatly improved Doc’s mood and state of mind and brought him great pleasure up to the last week of his life.
Doc is survived by his wife, life partner, and co-worker, Shirley. He is further survived by his children, Janine (Rev. James) Phillips of Racine, Laurali (Larry) Gilbertson of La Crosse, Jeffrey (Ann) Vogtschaller of Baraboo, and Dr. David (Sharon) Schaller of St. Louis, Mo. There are 14 grandchildren, 25 great grandchildren. He is further survived by his brother, Loren (Ruth) Schaller of Tucson, Ariz., and his sister, Lois (the late Norbert) Vlasek of Sun City West, Ariz. There are many other relatives and friends who will remember him with fondness. He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, John and Roland (Bettianne), and one sister, Margo (Charlie) Raschka.
Though he was a highly educated man of letters, throughout his life Doc remained a humble, down-to-earth, loving man. His children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren remember him as a quiet but strong example of how a Christian should live. Even when he and Shirley were working several jobs at the same time, Doc made sure his family was in church every Sunday. Though “busy,” he still took the time to serve on the church council and to teach Sunday School. For many years he served as Head usher at Mt. Calvary and was still working as an usher up until about a year ago.
He made sure his children received a strong Christian education. He was a patient helper with homework and the learning of life tasks, a knowledgeable teacher of all wonders that the natural world has to offer, and a fun playmate who never lost his child-like sense of humor. While we acknowledge that God had an even better life planned for him, to which He has now called Doc, we still confess that Doc will be missed! But for the values he instilled and for the life he led, Doc won’t be forgotten!
A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, July 11th, at Mt. Calvary Ev. Lutheran Church, 1411 South 16th St., La Crosse. Pastor Robert Wassermann will officiate. Family and friends may call from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service on Saturday at the church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to Mt. Calvary-Grace Lutheran School and Luther High School tuition assistance programs.