Obituary for Dr. Jeffry T. Schabilion

Dr. Jeffry T. Schabilion, 81, of Iowa City, Iowa died peacefully of natural causes on Monday, June 24th at Briarwood Health Care Center surrounded by family. An intimate Celebration of Life service with family and friends will be scheduled for a later date.

The oldest of three children, Jeff was born in Davenport on December 18, 1942, to Elfe (Schurr) and George Schabilion. He was a graduate of Davenport West High School (1961), Iowa State University with degrees in Botany and Geology (1965) and Kansas University (1969) earning his Master’s and PhD in Botany. In 1968, while attending Kansas University, he met and married Dorothy Thompson. Together they had three sons with the marriage ending after 18 years. Dr. Schabilion was an accomplished paleobotany professor at the University of Iowa, dedicating over 40 years of his life to the education of students on the subjects of botany, plant diversity, ecology, and evolution. He also participated in lectures, both national and international, along with television and radio appearances to share his knowledge and expertise with thousands of people.

Dr. Schabilion’s contributions to the botanical sciences are extensive, including his active role in the discovery and donation of one of the largest scale tree fossils recorded to the collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in 2005. Lepidodendron Fossil U of I Most of his other research and publications in botany, ecology, and geology reside at the University of Iowa.

Jeffry had an inextinguishable passion for the native flora of the Midwest, as well as a fondness for the local architecture and geology of Iowa City. He was a board member of the Friends of Historic Preservation and had a special interest in Iowa City’s Moffitt Cottages in particular, with one becoming his own home in the 1980’s. Living in a Moffitt House In addition to his many interests, he was a champion of several local special projects including spearheading the restoration of a section of the Mormon Handcart Trail, saving ‘Old Brick’, an executive committee member of the Natural History Museum and as a founder for United Action for Youth in 1970.

Although Jeff wasn’t fond of traveling far, he made exceptions to explore the natural history of the Galapagos and Panama, and took trips to England for the history and culture while attending classes at Oxford. He notoriously despised technology (most notably PowerPoint presentations), math of any kind, driving, and restaurants that refused to provide spoons.

Jeff married his long-time friend and partner Dean Logan in 2018, and they enjoyed six loving years together.

Those left to honor Jeff’s memory in addition to Dean are his three sons: Daniel (Ilka) Schabilion, Joel (Jodie) Schabilion, and Abe (Kari) Schabilion, and seven grandchildren (Gabriel, Hannah, Mary, Maggie, Isabella, Gabriella, and Max) that he routinely liked to go on camping trips to Camp Wapsie every Labor Day weekend and explore the Maquoketa Caves with. He is also survived by his younger brother Dave (Charlene) Schabilion, and younger sister, Susan Schabilion (Kevin Wehner), nephew John (Sarah) Schabilion, step-daughters Jennifer (Aaron) Lorenz, Katy Logan, beloved cousins, and ex-wife Dorothy Schabilion.

Jeff’s awards, achievements, and accomplishments were too numerous to mention–but we touched on a few. Jeff will continue to be memorialized through his work, providing intellect to many even after his departure. The memory of him will forever be cherished by his many friends and family members, and he will be missed greatly. In lieu of flowers, monetary donations can be made in Jeff’s honor to Friends of Historic Preservation Iowa City https://www.ic-fhp.org/, Museum of Natural History (Museum of Natural History), Camp Wapsie YMCA (Camp Wapsie) or United Action for Youth https://www.unitedactionforyouth.org