George Frederick Schurz, 92, died April 27, 2016

George Frederick Schurz was born Dec. 27, 1923, in Burt, North Dakota, to John and Frieda Schurz. George was the eldest of two children, having a sister, Rosalie.

George attended school in Burt and Mott, North Dakota, graduating from Mott High School in 1941 as valedictorian. After high school, he moved to Modesto, California, where his Uncle Fred and Aunt Elsie Beyer were both educators. He attended Modesto Junior College, distinguishing himself academically, studying chemistry. He completed Modesto Junior College’s two-year course in 1943, graduating as salutatorian.

George joined the U.S. Army in March 1944 during World War II. He saw combat in the Asia-Pacific theater during the battle of Okinawa, the last and biggest of the Pacific island battles.

After his honorable discharge from the Army in 1946, George enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry in June 1948.

Immediately after graduation, George joined Dow Chemical Co., working at its Pittsburg, California, location for 19 years as a research chemist specializing in the new field of enhanced oil recovery. In 1967, he transferred to Houston to be manager of Dow’s enhanced oil recovery program. He worked in the Houston office until 1980 when he took early retirement to become an independent consultant for the petroleum industry.

In his 32 years with Dow Chemical, George achieved distinction as a leading expert in enhanced oil recovery and travelled extensively, sharing his knowledge with the petroleum industry until he retired in 2000.

It was at Dow that Dad met the love of his life, Lula Mae Bonham, a Texas native who had moved to California in 1947. She had two children from a previous marriage: Travis Bonham, born in Texas, and Ronald Bonham, born in California. Lula and George were married in October 1960, 11 years after they first met. For the next seven years, they lived on 10 acres of grapes near Oakley, California, a period George and Lula would say was the happiest of their lives. In 1967, they moved to Houston when George transferred with Dow Chemical and lived there until 2000, when they moved back to California to once again live “on the ranch.”

Lula passed away suddenly in 2003, and George would reflect that life just wasn’t much fun anymore without Lula.

George was a very physically active man during his long life, and it wasn’t until his mid-80s that he gave up running for fun and exercise. He was a competitive distance runner at Modesto Junior College, running in the first Modesto Relays. He once ran the mile in 4 minutes 30 seconds when it was thought no one could break the four-minute barrier. This love of running stayed with George all his life, and he last participated in the Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco when he was in his 80s.

In addition to his hobby as a grape grower, George and Lula were avid bridge players. They played both socially and in competitive duplicate bridge tournaments. George was also a famed tinkerer and avid collector of “precious” junk. The chaos that is called his garage and the eight cars and old tractor that are still “on the ranch” are a testament to this.

George lived a long and fruitful life and passed away peacefully on April 27, 2016, due to pulmonary and respiratory complications. He was 92.

His son Travis died in 2013. He is survived by his son Ronald Bonham; two nephews, Jonathan and Steven Ellis; two nieces, Susan Ellis and Sandy Silva; five grandchildren, Christian Bonham, Laura Thompson, Jeffrey Bonham, Richard Bonham and Kristin Newman; and six great-grandchildren, Avery and Blaire Thompson, Grace and Jackson Bonham, and Riley and Cooper Newman; as well as eight grandnieces and grandnephews, Stephanie and Sean Ellis, Becky, David and Sarah Silva, and Jonathan, Jacob and Katie Ellis.