Individual Details

Date of Publication: 14 Sep 2018
Obituary for Timothy Jurgensen; died 8 Sep 2018.
Timothy Jurgensen passed away recently in Austin, at the age of 62. Tim was born to Warren and Gwen Jurgensen in
Lexington, Kentucky, on July 19, 1956. In 1966, the Jurgensens moved to Fort Worth. Tim graduated from Nolan High
School. He received a Bachelor's in Biology from Stephen F. Austin University and a Master's in Environmental Science
from TCU. Tim started his career with the Texas Water Commission in Duncanville working on water quality projects in the
Dallas-Fort Worth area. He later took a position with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) in Tyler, where he
became part of the Contaminant Assessment Team. Much of his work focused on selenium contamination in power plant
cooling lakes in east Texas. In 1997, Tim brought his skills and knowledge to San Marcos, joining the TPWD River Studies
Team as an Aquatic Biologist. This position gave Tim the opportunity to work statewide on stream and river quality. Tim
was a major contributor to many research projects, including a multiyear project looking at water quality, biology,
habitat, and contaminants in east Texas streams, and a Nueces River project that was instrumental in the passage of
Senate Bill 818, which banned the driving of vehicles in state river beds. Later, he worked at the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality. Tim cared deeply about the environment. After retirement, he volunteered at Balcones Canyonlands
Preserve, surveying endangered species such as the Golden-cheeked Warbler, and threatened species such as the Jollyville
Salamander. He also did water quality monitoring and vegetation surveys. Tim loved to travel. In his teens, he went to
Australia and met the family of his mother, who grew up in Melbourne. As a young man, he traveled to the Pacific
Northwest, Mexico's Copper Canyon, and Alaska, where he hiked the Denali Wilderness. In 1993, Tim and his father went to
Scandinavia and the UK. Tim especially loved camping. Almost every year, he camped on family land in Colorado, where he
hiked the Weminuche Wilderness. In the early 1980s, he and his sister, Karen, backpacked in the Arkansas wilderness and
Big Bend National Park. He also backpacked alone for five days in the Guadalupe Mountains. Tim continued challenging
himself in the outdoors in the new century, taking trips to Kentucky, Utah, and Montana. On Nov. 23, 2002, Tim married
the love of his life, Robin McMillion. They honeymooned along the Frio River in Leakey, Texas. They also traveled to
Ruidoso, New Mexico, in 2002; the Yucatan Peninsula in 2003; Germany, Switzerland, and France in 2007; Santa Fe, New
Mexico, in 2009; Hawaii in 2011; and Spain and the UK in 2014. Upon marriage, Tim became a step-father to Robin's
children, Leslie and Ari. He helped put both through college. One of Tim's proudest moments was when he walked Leslie
down the aisle at her wedding. For many years, Tim and Robin lived near her parents in north Austin. Tim helped her care
for her parents in their later years, and grieved their passing, along with the passing of his own parents. Tim loved
science. He also loved nature. Even as a child, Tim was happiest when he was outdoors. He especially loved water. He and
Robin met while swimming at Krause Springs. For years, the couple had a sailboat on Lake Travis. Tim kayaked and canoed
Lady Bird Lake, swam with sea turtles in Hawaii, and dipped his toes into the Mediterranean. In high school, Tim
played the French horn, trombone, trumpet, and tuba. As an adult, he played the guitar and dulcimer. Tim loved live
music. He and Robin often went to the Celtic Festival, and he regularly attended Old Settler's Music Fest in Driftwood.
Tim especially liked Tom Petty and Patty Griffin. Once, Robin surprised Tim with tickets to see Jackson Browne. Tim was
also an avid reader. In addition to fiction, he read science- and nature-related magazines, often cover-to-cover. Tim
and Robin divorced amicably in 2017, but remained close. Shortly before he died, Tim texted Robin, saying, "The day we
married was the best day of my life." Robin texted back, "For me too." Tim was preceded in death by his parents. He is
survived by sister Gail Hartsfield and husband, Will, of Dallas; sister Dr. Karen Jurgensen of Fort Worth; ex-wife Robin
McMillion of Austin; step-daughter Leslie Walter and husband, Bryan, of Pensacola, Florida; step-son Ari Schulman of
Arlington, Virginia; and granddaughter Cora Walter of Pensacola. In A River Runs Through It, author Norman MacLean
writes, "It is those we live with and love and should know who elude us... but I still reach out to them...
Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and
runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words,
some of the words are theirs." A memorial service will be held at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home at 3125 N. Lamar Dr.
in Austin on Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. Donations may be made in Tim's name to Balcones Canyonlands Preserve, Texas Parks and
Wildlife, the Sierra Club, or the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Birth	19 Jul 1956	Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky
Marriage	23 Nov 2002	Living
Death	8 Sep 2018	Austin, Travis County, Texas
Divorce		Living

Spouse

Living