Jerome George Schoenbachler

Jerome George (Jerry) Schoenbachler of Houston, TX lived a wonderful life marked by love and adventure. He passed away peacefully on January 3, 2025, at the age of 92. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Catherine Schoenbachler, and his parents, Joseph and Louise Schoenbachler. He is survived by his children Mark Schoenbachler of Plymouth, MN; Joyce (Mario) Terrazas of Austin, TX; Jill (Mark) Burnside of Katy, TX; and Jane (Mark) Newitt of Houston, TX. He is also survived by his sisters, Susan (Ralph) Sanford and Maris Robinson, as well as cherished nieces and nephews. He will be dearly missed by his grandchildren Zachary and Courtney (Adam); Cherish, Jessica (Matthew), and Nicholas (Sky); and Michelle and Jennifer. He was blessed to have four great-grandchildren Brayden, Max, Claire, and Connor.

Jerry was born on February 23, 1932, in Brooklyn, NY to Joseph and Louise Schoenbachler. He was a Navy brat and spent his early years in New York, Long Beach, San Diego, Guam (where Susan was born), Mare Island (where Maris was born), San Leandro and finally Oakland, CA. Although Jerry was a protective older brother as Susan and Maris are 7 years and 11 years younger, he was also very good at teasing them, as every good brother should be. He was an adventurous kid who made it through high school relatively unscathed, playing baseball and hanging out with friends. As everyone does, he started college at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, CA. Unlike many others, he did not embrace the academic part of college. Therefore, his father pulled him out of school and enlisted him in the Navy. From 1951-1955, he served as a medical corpsman in the Korean War and spent most of his time on a destroyer, the USS Hopewell. When he returned home, he discovered that his sister Susan’s best friend, Catherine, had grown into a beautiful young lady. He escorted her to her Senior Prom and the rest is history. They married on June 14, 1958, in Carmel, CA and welcomed their son, Mark, the following year. During this time, Jerry went back to school and earned an associate’s degree from San Mateo College and a bachelor’s degree from The University of California, Berkeley. He graduated in 1960 and immediately secured a job at Shell Oil Company, which was one month before Joyce was born. Jill and Jane soon followed.

In 1970, Shell transferred Jerry to Houston. What was supposed to be a 2-year assignment turned into a 22-year assignment. Jerry traveled extensively during his career at Shell as a project analyst, visiting all the refineries and plants across the United States. He retired as a very happy man in 1992, completing 32 years of service with Shell. When he wasn’t working, you could find him on the golf course. He spent most Saturday mornings at the golf course at Memorial Park.

Jerry continued his connection to Shell and golf by captaining a crew of marshals at the Shell Houston Open golf tournament for many years. If you attended the tournament in the 2000’s, you probably were “hushed” by Jerry and his marshals at hole #6.

Jerry and Catherine made a happy life for all, working hard and seeing their children flourish through college, careers, and their own fulfilling lives. Summers always included a trip back to California to visit the Schoenbachler, Joyce, Sanford, Robinson, and Piombo families. Celebrating family milestones like birthdays and graduations were a joy to Jerry and Catherine,

and the family marked most of these events with dinner at the old Mason Jar Restaurant in Houston. This is also where his children hosted a surprise 50th wedding anniversary for Catherine and Jerry in 2008, so fun! Catherine and Jerry were happily married for more than sixty-six years.

Upon Jerry’s retirement, he became the social director of the family. He started watching (and recording) soap operas to ensure that none of the family missed them. While he was employed, he believed that soap operas were a waste of time! He also checked in with everyone to see where they were and what was going on in their lives. His children and grandchildren were spread across the United States, but Jerry and Catherine made regular visits to all of them. He coordinated and gifted his entire family (kids, in-laws, and grandchildren) a trip to Disneyworld during Thanksgiving 2004. It is a trip that none will forget!

Jerry loved to travel, and he and Catherine visited many states in the US including Hawaii and Alaska, and many cities like Seattle, Chicago, Austin, Minneapolis, and San Francisco. New York City at Christmas time became a favorite family tradition, with all the sights and flavors of the season. He also traveled internationally to fascinating places like England, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Hong Kong. Ireland was a favorite as Catherine’s parents immigrated to the United States from Ireland and many of her relatives lived there.

Jerry embraced his Catholic Christian faith, taking great joy in living out his beliefs and practicing his Catholic tenets, sacraments, and traditions. Toward the end of his life, he could still verbally affirm his belief in God and in his Savior, Jesus Christ. He declined in health these past three years with Alzheimer’s dementia. His decline accelerated with the death of Catherine in August 2024, and he passed away peacefully at home. He is reunited with his beloved Catherine and is now truly home, in the presence of God.

Jerry will be honored and remembered on Wednesday April 02, 2025, at Katy Funeral Home, located at 23350 Kingsland Blvd in Katy, TX with family visitation from 5:00-6:45 pm followed by a memorial service from 6:45-8:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, Jerry’s family would invite you to make a donation to the Cure Alzheimer’s fund (curealz.org).