Terry Oberley

Madison-Terry DeWayne Oberley passed away in Madison, WI at age 67 on October 15th, 2013. He was born in Effingham, IL on January 23rd, 1946 to Ruby Moore and James Donald Oberley. Terry's identical twin brother, Larry Wayne, and his parents relocated to Janesville, Wisconsin where he attended high school and finished as class valedictorian. He then began his academic career at Northwestern University where he received his BA, MD, and PhD. That he was able to persevere through such a rigorous academic program was made all the more remarkable by his suffering from kidney failure and initiating hemodialysis while in medical school at age 27.
It was at Northwestern that Terry met the love of his life Edith Marjorie Toole and the two were married in Missoula, Montana on June 19th, 1968. Thus began a fruitful partnership in the advocacy for patients who are suffering from kidney disease. With Edith he co-authored a book and the two of them traveled the country speaking to audiences to provide information on optimal home hemodialysis.
Terry came to the University of Wisconsin Medical School in 1974 and made Madison a lifelong home for his family and numerous professional achievements. He was a tenured faculty member in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and on the Veterans Administration staff for over 30 years where he mentored numerous students, postdocs, and physicians. Terry was the director of the renal pathology and electron microscopy program for many years at the UW.
Terry was a very active researcher in the fields of cancer and free radical biology publishing over 200 articles, reviews, and book chapters. He and his brother Larry were pioneers in the study of the relationship of reactive oxygen species to cancer. For his efforts, Terry was honored with a Veterans Administration Research Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. Terry also served the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine as an interim Chair and then as Vice Chair for Research until stepping down in 2011.
Terry was preceded in death by his parents, Ruby and James Oberley, his twin brother Dr. Larry Oberley, PhD, and his spouse Edith Toole Oberley. He is survived by his sons Dr. Matthew (Khanh) and Alexander Oberley and his granddaughters Sophia and Juliet Oberley all of Madison, WI.
Terry was especially fortunate to have many excellent caretakers in his life, and he and the Oberley family are especially grateful for the dialysis nurses who helped Terry at home over the years. The Oberley family wishes to extend special thanks to the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics Palliative Care Unit whose compassionate care provided Terry with a wonderful final two weeks.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, November 2nd, 2013 at 10 am at the FIRST UNITARIAN SOCIETY OF MADISON, 900 University Bay Drive.