Dr. Gerald "Jerry" Anthony Baugh

Dr. Gerald “Jerry” Anthony Baugh, age 85, passed away peacefully at his farm in Bastrop County on February 3, 2023 as his sons played Terry Allen’s Amarillo Highway for him on guitar and piano. He wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Jerry was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa on September 20, 1937. He was raised by his mother, Margaret Shanahan Johnson and his stepfather, William “David” Johnson, in Austin, TX.

Jerry graduated from St. Edward’s High School in 1955. He earned a Bachelor of Sciences from the University of Notre Dame in 1959. He then completed his doctorate program at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1963. Through the Tulane University School of Medicine, he first interned and then performed his medical residency at both the Charity Hospital in New Orleans, LA and Lallie Kemp Regional Medical Center in Independence, LA. Dr. Baugh suspended his residency program to serve his country in the Vietnam Conflict from 1965-67 with the U.S. Air Force; he performed general surgery in the rank of Captain.

After his military tour, Jerry returned to Louisiana to complete his residency program in general surgery and was promoted to Chief of Staff at Lallie Kemp. In 1970, he moved his young family to Wauwatosa, WI, where he specialized in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Returning to Austin in 1972, Dr. Baugh eventually became the 6 ^th partner with the Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeons (CTVS). He faithfully served the Austin community before retiring.

Jerry met his first wife, Karren Phares Baugh, while doing his residency in Louisiana where she was also working in the medical field. They settled in Austin and raised five amazing children together. The family with two girls and three boys were active in their community. In their time together they enjoyed water skiing on Lake LBJ and camping on their family farm just outside of Rosanky, TX. The Baughs enjoyed traveling, often taking the kids on trips everywhere from the Rockies to Europe. Later Jerry and Karren amicably parted ways.

In 1989, Jerry arrived at Dr. Jack Moncrief's summer camp (called Moncrief Mountain Ranch) in Lake City, CO for children afflicted with various illnesses where Shirley Stegall was also volunteering. Prior to this, Jerry and Shirley had worked together in dialysis, organ recovery and transplantation. They were happy to see each other, and thus, began many years of a loving friendship, partnership and big adventure. For the next seven years they hiked, danced, traveled, laughed and loved.

In 1996, Jerry married Shirley and they headed out in Red Rover , their Volkswagen van traveling wherever their hearts took them. They journeyed from White Sands, NM to the great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado. From Acoma, NM to Loveladies, NJ, and along the way, they formed lasting friendships with Jerry's fellow veterans, who served alongside him in Vietnam. They spent one year living abroad – first at San Miguel de Allende, Mexico studying Spanish, and then San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala, where they helped establish a new hospital while practicing medicine on the sides of old volcanoes.

They retreated to the farm where they built spaces for hosting large family gatherings. They established a second home at a cabin located in the mountains above Taos, NM. When the grandchildren began arriving, Jerry and Shirley hosted “Cousin Camp” in the summers. All the kids would pile into the van with Dadoo and Grammy, traveling from Taos to Santa Fe, hiking the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and rafting the Rio Grande River.

A life-long athlete, Jerry competed in the Golden Gloves Boxing Program while in college. One year he claimed the university championship in his weight class at the Notre Dame Bengal Bouts. He later invested in a boxing gym on Austin’s famed Sixth Street, with his friend and local legend, Richard Lord. Along with pals Richard and Mike Burns, Jerry and Shirley once snuck into the DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium – running up and down the stadium steps, and Jerry waltzing Shirley around the track.

Jerry was a devoted steward of his farmland. One of Jerry’s greatest pleasures in retirement was when he undertook a massive effort to restore the wild prairies of Texas by planting native grasses and qualifying the land as a wildlife preserve.

At The Farm on Peach Creek Road, Jerry’s big extended and blended family established sweet traditions with weddings, annual Thanksgiving feasts and Easter celebrations – he delighted in watching the many adventures and delicious meals unfold. But what brought him the most joy was watching his children build their own lives, families and homes. Jerry cherished his time visiting and connecting with his family and friends at The Farm in Rosanky and at The Cabin in New Mexico.

Humor, honesty and grace were hallmarks of this beloved man. Soft-spoken, with a big, kind heart and deep curiosity about the world, Jerry embodied the notion of living a humble life.

He is preceded in death by his mother, Margaret Jane Shanahan (Johnson), his step-father William “David” Johnson, his father James Logan Baugh, his older half-brother Hale Baugh; and, his father-in-law James Ray Stegall, Retired Major, U.S. Army, and mother-in-law, Dorris Parker Stegall.

He is survived by wife, Shirley Stegall Baugh; his former wife Karren Phares Baugh and mother of his five children, Anne Baugh Cuny and husband Craig, Sarah Baugh, Matthew Baugh and wife Laila Sanii, Daniel Baugh and wife Patrice Shackleford Baugh, and Adam Baugh and wife Patricia Campbell Baugh; his step-daughter Courtney Tucker and husband Mark Sundin, and his step-son Matt Tucker and wife Angeline Wong Tucker. He is survived by nine grand-children Colton Cuny, Odessa and Sabine; Myra, Jackson and Nate, honorary grandchild Silas; and Calvin and Bonden; great grand-daughter Emma Claire; and, great-nephew Cameron Gordon.

Friends and former colleagues are invited to attend a memorial service at 1pm on Saturday, February 18, 2023 at Shepherd of the Hills Christian Church, 6909 West Courtyard Drive, Austin, TX 78730.

The family wishes to thank the compassionate and tireless care  Rosa “Rosie” Perez provided for Jerry.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to your local food bank, or a charity supporting conservation efforts.

Arrangements by Providence Funeral Home, 2079 State Hwy 71, Bastrop, TX 78602.