Leo and Phoebe Boebel

The Leo and Phoebe Boebel Memorial Schoalrship was originally a memorial to Leo E. Bcebel, who was Dean of Arts and Science, and established after his death in 1968. After her death his wife, Phoebe W. Boebel, who had been a continued participant in the scholarship fund and other committees relating to the University was added to the fund. Both are UW-Platteville alumni who attended in the early 1920s.

Leo was born near Fennimore and served in the Navy for three years during World War II, attaining the rank of lieutenant commander.

Leo started serving as a member of the Platteville faculty in 1946. While dean, he was active as a professor of bacteriology and director of the medical technology program. He served on a number of UW-Platteville and national committees. He earned his B.A. in education at Platteville State University and his M.A. in bacteriology at the University of Iowa, where he did further work toward his doctor’s degree. He also did graduate work at the University of Wisconsin and Ohio State.

On leave from the university from 1951-1952, he directed research for the Legislative Council Committee on the problems of the Aged in Wisconsin and wrote a 200 page report for the 1963 Legislature.

This scholarship was created in their honor to allow their legacy to live on for years to come. The specific provision for the six Southwestern Wisconsin counties stems from their family background and heredity of both the Boebel’s (Leo) and Wallin’s (Phoebe). Records show that family attendance at UW-Platteville can be traced back three generations to the 19th century. It is interesting to note that at the beginning of the Civil War all of their Bcebel and Wallin ancestors lived in either Grant or Crawford Counties.