| AUTO BIOGRAPHY FOR JEROLD GEMAR, PAST PRESIDENT 1979 I was born on December 18, 1939, on the farm in rural Fullerton, ND. I was the middle child of 2 brothers and 2 sisters. I attended elementary and high school in Fullerton, a very small school with only 12 in my graduating class. To me, playing sports was the main reason for going to HS, but I did graduate as salutatorian. I played football (6-man and quarterback), baseball (shortstop), and my first love, basketball. I graduated from HS in 1957 and attended NDSU in Fargo, ND. It appeared that I may go back to the family farm, so I got my BS in Agriculture Education. In my junior year, I decided that I would like to pursue veterinary medicine, even if I went back to the farm, and applied to UMN in Oklahoma, Kansas and Iowa. I was accepted at all four, but UMN was my first choice. I received my DVM in May 1965. By this time, my younger brother decided to take over the family farm, so I accepted a job with Dr. Dunn at Ellendale, ND. The practice was 90% large anima,l which was fine with me. In early October 1965, I received notice that Uncle Sam was interested in me joining the Army. There were only two of us who graduated that year from ND, so I had a 50% chance of being drafted. I met my wife in October 1964, Peter Rabbit gave her a ring for Easter, and we were married on September 4, 1965. She had accepted to do her internship in dietetics in Seattle, WA. Considering that I may be drafted in April 1966, I decided to head for Seattle. I took a job with Dr. Ward at the Alderwood Veterinary Hospital in Lynnwood, WA, on November 1. My classmate won the prize to go into the army. And after a year in WA, I decided not to go back to ND. I immediately joined the WSVMA. I truly enjoy participating in organizations, and over the many years of local, state, and national VMA organizations, I have met so many of my colleagues all across the USA. Of all the offices and committees I have served on, being President of WSVMA is at the top of my list. I also enjoyed serving as treasurer for over 20 years. After 41 years together, Dr Ward decided to retire. I wasn’t ready to retire, but finally elected to go with the sale. It had some advantages, but something I would probably not do again. I stayed with AVC for 7 more years before I retired. Retirement has been great, having more time to do my many hobbies. Taking care of the grandchildren, guarding, fishing, skiing, bicycling (15 Seattle to Portland bike rides), and traveling. Both LaVerne and I did many land and sea excursions. Much of Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean, Costa Rica, Alaska, Canada, 46 of the 50 USA states, Australia, New Zealand, and a little of Africa, Asia, and South America. At 86, I finally had to give up downhill skiing, but I still do my daily workout on the bike and treadmill. I still live in Edmonds and enjoy the beautiful views of the Olympics and the gorgeous sunsets. Unfortunately, I am alone as LaVerne suddenly elected to depart to Heaven on July 25, 2025. |
