George Stephan Zweifel

George Zweifel, a resident of Davis since 1963, passed away on November 15, 2024 at the age of 98. He was born in Rapperswil, Switzerland and grew up in the area surrounding Lake Zurich with his six siblings. Much of his youth was spent working on neighboring family farms; instilling in him a love of the land, animals, gardening, and the rewards of physical work. After graduating from high school, George studied agriculture at the Ecole d’Agriculture du Valais. He fulfilled his military service in the Swiss army starting in 1946 as an Artillery Lieutenant stationed in the alps of the French speaking region of Switzerland. 

 It was during one of his summer agricultural internships that he met his wife Hanni whose family were on a neighboring farm. George and Hanni were married in 1953 and spent the next few years in Zurich while he completed his PhD in Chemistry at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. The award of a Swiss-British Exchange Fellowship made it possible for George and Hanni to spend two years at the University of Edinburgh. In 1958 George and Hanni moved to Lafayette, Indiana, where their sons Stephan and Hanspeter were born. While working in the Chemistry Department at Purdue University, George undertook research with the Nobel Laureate, Herbert Brown, in the newly developing field of hydroboration chemistry. 

 In 1963, the Zweifel family moved to Davis, where George joined the faculty in the Chemistry Department at UCD. His research interest was organic synthesis, in particular exploring the utilization of organometallic compounds in organic synthesis. George was passionate about teaching his courses and in mentoring his graduate research students. He gained immense satisfaction in relaying his love and knowledge of chemistry, and in seeing his research students develop into successful scientists. His passion for chemistry continued in his retirement, serving on journal editorial boards and collaborating with his colleague Dr. Michael Nantz on the publication of a textbook, “An Introduction to Modern Organic Synthesis”. He cherished his conversations and friendships with all of his colleagues in the chemistry department, with a special acknowledgement to Dr. Ed Friedrich and Dr. Mark Kurth. 

 Commuting around town by bicycle, or walking through the UCD arboretum, George and Hanni were grateful for the wonderful Davis climate. George was an excellent gardener who took pride in caring for the fruit trees with the techniques he learned in his youth working on the farms in Switzerland. He enjoyed sharing his heritage by inviting friends over for a classic Swiss dinner of “raclette”, or hosting colleagues on summer visits to Switzerland. George and Hanni never lost their appreciation of their homeland and continued to stay close with relatives that meant so much to them. Swiss relatives from many generations made the trip to the USA, where George and Hanni would serve as enthusiastic tour guides on their road trips to visit the National Parks in the western USA. 

 George was preceded in death by his beloved wife of over seventy years in July. He is survived by his son Stephan and daughter-in-law Erica, son Hanspeter and daughter-in-law Barbara, and grandson Christof. His family would like to express gratitude to the staff at Premier Veteran Home Care for their excellent service and compassionate care.