A former Crystal Lake High School District 155 school board member, described by the district as having left a "lasting legacy" on the community, died earlier this month.

Dr. Gary Oberg, 74, a certified pediatrician who died Aug. 19, served on the school board for about 32 years according to a news release. He had decided to run for the board in 1985 because he was interested in both medicine and education.

More than 36,000 students graduated from District 155 during Oberg's tenure on the school board. Over those 32 years, Oberg worked with six superintendents, approved several educational programs and approved several renovations and expansions, including Cary-Grove High School’s D and E wings, media center, and Fine Arts Center; Crystal Lake South’s two expansions in 2003 and 2006; and the opening of Haber Oaks in 2008.

Oberg also served on the building and grounds committee when the District 155 board approved the construction Prairie Ridge High School, according to the release.

Oberg was elected to the board in the same year District 155 Superintendent Steve Olson said he started his teaching career in the district. Oberg always made decisions based on what was best for the kids, Olson said.

"The decisions he made over his 32-year tenure continue to provide students with opportunities in District 155 to graduate with a sense of purpose,” Olson said.

Dave Secrest, a current District 155 board member, said his fondest memory of the man he called "Doc" is how when they were discussing an issue, board members would go around, offering their own thoughts and Oberg would always speak last.

"He summed up the discussion at hand and as only he could – very eloquently and precisely, and usually with a witty but always appropriate comment," Secrest said in a statement.

Former school board president Ted Wagner said the district couldn't have found a better, person, counselor, academic or board member than Oberg.

When Wagner was president of the board and Oberg was vice president, Wagner said he would often call Oberg to talk things over.

"He was always solid as a rock showing his love for the District 155 school system," Wagner said. "Always encouraging and never too busy to talk. Doc never worried about the politics of our decisions, just what was best for the kids.”

The Illinois Association of School Boards recognized Oberg in November 2013 for being the longest-serving board member in McHenry County and one of the longest-serving school board members in the state.

Oberg was born on Aug. 18, 1946, and lived in Chicago until 1951 when his family moved to Mount Prospect, according to his obituary. In 1961, they moved to Crystal Lake, where Oberg graduated from Crystal Lake Community High School, now Central, in 1964.

After high school, he received a Rector Scholarship to DePauw University and went on to medical school at Loyola University Chicago's Stritch School of Medicine where he graduated in 1972.

Oberg completed an internship in pediatrics at Children's Memorial Hospital and a two-year residency in pediatrics at Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke's Hospital, according to his obituary. In 1975, he joined the staff at Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital and practiced medicine in McHenry County for the next 45 years.

Among his many loves were teaching, metaphors, chess, classical music, reading, movies, science fiction and fantasy, Saturday night poker games with his friends, his trips around the world with his special travel group and a good dessert.

"He was a devoted sibling, uncle and friend," according to his obituary. "He was a brilliant, kind and generous man with a keen wit and open heart. He is forever grateful for all the patients who entrusted him with their complex health concerns."