Jerry Joseph Schoendorf

Jerry Joseph Schoendorf, born April 18, 1947 was a dedicated Bahai who strove to be selfless in his service to others. Yet he was much more. He was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend who abandoned his physical garment peacefully at home in Atlanta to soar into the realms of God on September 10, 2022 after a two-year struggle with lung cancer.

Jerry is preceded in death by his parents, Joseph (Joe) and Geneva Schoendorf of Risingsun, Ohio, and is survived by his loving wife and wanderlust partner of 51 years, Janet (nee Meyers) Schoendorf, his children: Justin (Carolyn) Schoendorf, Alyson Schoendorf (Bjorn Book-Larsson), and Hilary Schoendorf (Martin Fahrney), 4 grandchildren and one on the way (Ella and Linnea Larsson, Leo and Claire Fahrney, and future baby Schoendorf), his sisters Elaine Schoendorf of Ohio, and Janet Dimmer of Michigan, and countless nieces, nephews and friends.

The Baha’i burial service will take place at 10:30 am on Sunday, Oct 2 at Maplewood Cemetery, 1621 Duke University Rd, Durham, NC 27705

Lunch at the Durham Baha’i Center, 5103 Revere Rd. Durham NC 27713 will immediately follow the burial service. The memorial service at the Durham Baha’i Center will begin at 2 pm.

In lieu of flowers, Jerry would ask that you provide an unsolicited act of kindness or generous act of service to others.

And/or donations can be made in his name to the Anika James Foundation. More information about this foundation that supports education and the performing arts around the world and how donations can be submitted are at: anikajamesfoundation.com

Jerry loved meeting new people, speaking Spanish and dancing the cumbia. For several years, he was an avid backyard beekeeper, delighting friends and neighbors with jars of his homegrown honey. He was a world traveler and often sought ways to be of service when visiting new communities, volunteering at the Bahai House of Worship in Chile, or planting new trees along Playa Guiones to prevent erosion in his new hometown of Nosara, Costa Rica. One of his favorite things to do in Costa Rica was to watch the sunset over the ocean. It was the only place he never complained of being cold, and even there in the hot and humid jungle, he persisted his habit of wearing flannel PJs and socks to bed.

Jerry took seriously his service to the Baha’i community wherever he lived, participating in and facilitating teaching activities, serving in different capacities as needed, but most notably on the Local Spiritual Assemblies of both Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. As treasurer of the Assembly of Chapel Hill ,he often entertained members of the community with uniquely creative ways of presenting what generally might be thought of as boring numerical data. Over the years he and his wife hosted countless gatherings, Baha’i Feasts and devotionals in their home in Chapel Hill.

Ever the consummate host, Jerry eagerly invited new and old friends into his home, welcomed them to dine at his table to enjoy his wife’s cooking, approaching new settings and people with genuine curiosity and kindness. Quite the discriminating listener, he frequently provided thoughtful commentary that made one step back to see a larger principle.

He was a purveyor of fun, wisdom and wit. With a gleam in his eye, he organized countless treasure hunts for friends, family and grandchildren with clever clues often revealing not only a tangible prize but spiritual wisdom. He took fashion cues from no one, and sported the same mom jeans for close to 20 years, only got haircuts at home, and wore sunglasses from the fashion house of Circle K. . .the living embodiment of his principles of frugalness and non-materialism.

Some of the many valuable pieces of wisdom that his family was blessed to learn from him in his 75 years include: “When entering the ocean, don’t walk, but shuffle your feet to avoid disturbing and getting stung by a sting ray. Turn up the music and make your car dance by lightly tapping the brakes to the beat of the song on the radio. Stop for turtles crossing the street. Always pay yourself first and live within your means.”

Jerry had a lifelong love of Lay’s Potato Chips, country and Latin music, vintage sports cars, warm weather and the Baha'i Faith. Drawn to the faith’s pragmatic social principles, he was committed to serving others and to teaching the Faith- two actions he understood to be one and the same. Being of service and selflessness were his mantra, something he always said was the secret to happiness in this world. “How can I help?” he would often ask. He was a proud father and grandfather saying, “For most people, possibly nothing else provides equivalent opportunities for changing the world than being able to directly influence, educate and guide the succeeding generation and beyond.”

Jerry was born in Fremont, Ohio and remembered fondly his childhood years being raised in the tiny town of Risingsun, Ohio (pop 650) where there were only 3 stop lights, and everyone knew everyone’ else’s business. He graduated from high school at St. Meinrad’s Seminary in Indiana in 1965, received a BA degree in Art Education from Bowling Green University in Ohio in 1969, followed by a MA degree from the University of Illinois, Chicago (UIC) in Medical Illustration in 1984.

His teaching degree and the possible draft to the Vietnam War were the catalysts for his move to Cali, Colombia in the summer of 1968 where he would meet the love of his life, Janet (nee Meyers) also a second grade teacher. Jerry has said, “of all the decisions that one makes in a lifetime, millions of choices from trivial to profound, there are a select few that have the major consequence for abiding happiness. One of them is whom we choose to marry.” He would later reflect how transformative his move to Colombia was as it was there that he found his wife and through her the Bahai Faith which forever changed his life’s trajectory, as they both became dominating influences throughout his life.

In 1972, the couple moved to Coeur D’Alene, Idaho where their three children were born and they settled into small town living. There, Jerry co-owned a Commercial Printing business with John Gagnon. As a small business owner, he joined the local rotary club, where he picked up some storytelling skills and collected jokes to add to his arsenal at the weekly Rotary luncheons. In 1983, Jerry sold his half of the business and embarked on a 6 month road trip with his family, which included 3 children, 11 suitcases, and a bus ride from the Mexican border to Cabo San Lucas. Upon their return to the states, Jerry and family settled in Chicago where he pursued the study of medical illustrations at UIC and upon graduation began a new career as director of the Biomedical Media Department at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC).

By 1988, Jerry was sick of living in cold climates, was never a fan of city living, and began to long for the warmth of the latin culture that had so transformed his life 20 years prior. He was able to secure a teaching job for his wife, and with that the family moved to Caracas, Venezuela where he attempted to establish a business in the field of anaplastology, (facial prosthetics). The business failed to prosper there, and so reluctantly, the family returned to the states in 1990 where Jerry secured a job at Duke University in NC as the coordinator of medical art. He eventually began working with Jane Bahor in anaplastology, remaining at Duke until he retired in 2007. Subsequently he took the anaplastology practice private with a partner, Jay McClennen, to whom he sold his half of the business a few years later in 2012.

During his years at Duke University, he had the good fortune to develop a working relationship and friendship with Dr. Douglas Drossman, gastroenterologist and professor emeritus at UNC, for whom he provided slides, and assorted forms of visual communication, and then offered the same for members of the American Gastroenterology Association, and subsequently the Rome Foundation for which he continued to work until a few months before his death. Jerry greatly appreciated the fact that he was able to find an occupation in which he could use his artistic skills to benefit others. Reflecting on his career, Jerry would say “My vocation as an artist, clinician and visual communicator has become a significant element of my identity. That it has been possible to use these skills to improve the lives of people with disfigurements, provide educational material for doctors and patients, and to earn a living by it is something for which I’m profoundly grateful.”

While the process of life and its inevitable transition to something beyond are often ignored in daily living, Jerry marveled that cancer provided an opportunity for reflection and was an enriching source of motivation to value, appreciate and cherish family and friends and the many other activities he enjoyed. Jerry lived a good life, a happy life, and to his friends and family he is most grateful.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.hmpattersonOglethorpe.com for the Schoendorf family.