Obituary of Gary Searl

Gary (Joe) Harlan Searl, 81, of Eugene, died on February 20 of Atypical Alzheimer's. He married Janice Marie Whipple in 1954 in Portland, Oregon. Janice died November, 2011. He is survived by three children and their spouses, Lori Bosteder (Steve), Bruce Searl (Jennifer), and Julia Moore (Jay), all of Eugene; and by four grandchildren, Jayson Bosteder (Natalie), Joshua, Jacob, and Jessica Searl, and one granddog, Epiphany. Joe was born in Midwest, Wyoming in 1931 to Francis and Katherine Searl. They lived in Salt Creek, Wyoming, and moved to Valsetz, Oregon in 1938. He joined the Army during the Korean War and was honorably discharged as a corporal in 1953. He received his BBA and MS from the University of Oregon. Joe taught at Drain High School and at Lincoln High School in Cottage Grove. He spent the remainder of his career as a professor of Cultural Geography at LCC and the University of Oregon. He led off-campus graduate field studies across Europe and Mexico. Joe traveled, taught and enjoyed field work extensively in more than 20 countries. He was one of the early founders of the UO's Geography Department's unique summer program in geographic education for K-12 teachers and an early adopter of video and computers in geographic education and field research. Joe actively contributed to Cultural Geography in the U.S. and abroad through personal research, presentations and publications. Joe served as board member and Treasurer of MOPAN, President of the Eugene-Kakegawa Sister City Committee, on the Steering Committee International Student Friendship Foundation, and was a founding member of the Eugene Irish Festival. He was an avid sailor. A Celebration of Life is planned for Saturday, March 16, at 11am at the EMU Ballroom on the University of Oregon Campus. In Lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the University of Oregon Geography Department via the University Foundation with a memo note "in memory of Joe Searl," World Vision and Oregon Children's Choir