Gerald Anthony Loeffler

Gerald Anthony Loeffler (Gerry) was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1954. Like most kids of that time, he spent a great deal of time outdoors, building forts, playing cowboys and Indians, and enjoying sports. In winter, there was ice hockey on the frozen ponds and in summer, Gerry spent his days at the community pool, swimming and diving. He was always a natural athlete. Gerry loved football, but being smaller was a disadvantage; Gerry made up for this with speed and deception. Even though he had never been on skis prior to being stationed in Germany, Gerry was selected for the Army Ski Team during his second year of deployment. His tales of hurtling down the Alpine ski slopes were frankly terrifying.

His favorite sport of all was car racing. In 2001, Gerry bought a 1965 Sunbeam Tiger and raced it in Washington, Oregon, California and Canada. Those times at the track and at our house with our “race family” were the best times of our lives. So many fond memories and funny stories.

Gerry survived 12 years of Catholic school, despite some ruler-rapped knuckles. He attended Bowling Green University on a pre-med path and hated it. He left

college to join the Army and became a lab tech. While in Germany, he ran a blood bank, including managing mass casualty transfusions. When he came back to the States, he enrolled in nursing school and received his BSN from Southeast Missouri State University. After graduation, he went back into the Army and was stationed in North Carolina and Texas.

When the First Gulf War was declared, Gerry volunteered to be deployed. He was responsible for setting up field hospitals, including ICUs, in the desert. Conditions were terrible. As U.S. troops withdrew from the theater, Gerry stayed behind to protect injured patients who could not yet be moved. Upon returning home, Gerry pursued a Master’s Degree in Emergency and Trauma Nursing from the University of Alabama Birmingham. After graduation, the Army moved Gerry to El Paso, Texas to run a trauma program there. During his tenure, Beaumont Army Medical Center successfully obtained Level II American College of Surgeons verification. They were the first facility in the entire Army hospital system to achieve this.

Kathy and Gerry met in Albany, New York, where Kathy was teaching a Trauma Coordinator course. A long-distance romance ensued with Gerry in El Paso and Kathy in Bothell, Washington. They were married in August 1999, and Kathy’s disabled son, Max, was blessed with the Best Dad Ever from that day on.

Gerry left the Army in 2002 and held a variety of management jobs at Harborview Medical Center, the University of Washington Hospital, and Kaiser. His professional life came full circle in 2015 when he took a job in the Rehabilitation Department at the VA Hospital in Seattle. Gerry made lifelong friends wherever he worked.

Beginning in 2002, Gerry had a series of health issues. He developed lymphoma in 2002, which recurred in 2023. He had lung cancer in 2006, 2021, 2022, and again in 2024. Thankfully, the VA now recognizes that these diagnoses were service related. We are eternally grateful to all the staff at the Seattle VA and Fred Hutchison Cancer Center for the care they have provided over the last three years.

Gerry’s life was all about service: service to our country, service to his patients, and service to his family. He rose to the rank of Major in the Army and saw combat. There are many people alive today who otherwise would not be, due to Gerry’s medical knowledge and skills. Kathy’s and Max’s lives were enriched by his care and love.

Gerry is survived by his brother, John Loeffler, and spouse, Karen; his sister Flo Johnson, his niece, Colleen Moore and spouse Mark, and nephew Philip Johnson, and spouse Lori.

Gerry was a faithful soldier his entire life; if anything needed doing, it was done carefully and thoroughly. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the charity of your choice, especially one that serves veterans or animals.

Gerry will live forever in the hearts of those who knew him. Rest in peace, you dear, wonderful man.

(P.S. I hope you are driving the car of your dreams on a heavenly track.)