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Dr. Eugene Michael “Gene” Schaufler, (77), of LaGrange, passed away on Aug. 3, 2023. 

Dr. Schaufler was born on June 25, 1946, in Newark, New Jersey to the late Anthony Eugene Schaufler and Ann Veronica Simko Schaufler.

Graveside services were held on Monday, Aug. 7, 2023, at 11 A.M. at the Marseilles Cemetery in West Point, Georgia with Dr. F. Stuart Gulley officiating. 

Family had a time of visitation on Sunday evening, Aug. 6, 2023, from 5-7 P.M. at the Higgins Funeral Home at Hunter Allen Myhand.

Survivors include his wife, Dr. Margaret Curry Downs “Mardi” Schaufler; children, Adam Schaufler, Gray Schaufler (Katie) and Maggie Schaufler; sisters and brothers-in-law, Dee Downs and Steve Andrews, Dr. Joe and Debra Downs, and Wingate Downs, New Jersey cousins Tom and Laura Mooney and Ed and Betty Simko, and many other cousins, nieces, nephews and friends. 

He is predeceased by his parents and by his cousins Tom and Elaine Mooney.

Gene was a proud graduate of Weequahic High School in Newark, NJ, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and a graduate of New York Medical College. He completed a pediatric residency at Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch, NJ and a gynecology and obstetrics residency at Emory School of Medicine affiliated hospitals, including Grady Memorial Hospital where he met Mardi. He completed a fellowship in Maternal Fetal Medicine at Emory School of Medicine.

Gene practiced medicine in both New Jersey and New York before beginning his charmed life and career in LaGrange, Georgia in 1983. 

Having been an only child and always a city-dweller, he delighted in the large extended Downs family and the slower pace of rural and small-town living along the Chattahoochee River. 

He enjoyed sailing the “Magpie”on West Point Lake, riding bicycles, playing tennis, owning and learning to love horses, donkeys, dogs and even cats. 

He was an amateur radio enthusiast and could frequently be heard on the LaGrange repeater and calling out CQ, CQ on other frequencies.

He felt it was such a privilege to practice medicine in LaGrange and had great devotion to his patients, his office staff and the hospital staff he worked with.

Apart from his gentle ways and obvious intellect, Gene had a disarming sense of humor that endeared him to all kinds of people, but especially to Mardi. She laughed at his jokes until the very end.

The family wishes to thank Dr. Venu Thirukonda and the excellent staff at Enoch Callaway Cancer Center as well as the doctors and staff at Northside Hospital. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Gene’s memory to West Georgia Health Foundation, 1514 Vernon Rd. LaGrange, GA 30240 or to the charity of your choice.  

Higgins Funeral Home at Hunter Allen Myhand, 706-884-5626.