Kalas Funeral Home & Crematory

Stefan Sebastian Dobert, photographer, documentary film maker, and video producer, died
peacefully at his home in Fairhaven, Md., on October 22, 2016 after a year-long battle with
cancer. He was 78 years old.

Just prior to World War II, Stefan's father, Eitel Dobert, wrote a book disparaging the rise of the
Hitler regime thus forcing him and his wife, Margarita Dobert to flee their native Germany. In
1938, while temporarily living in Geneva, Switzerland, Stefan was born, then eight months later
the young family made its way to the United States. Their first years were spent on a beloved
farm just outside of Charlottesville, Va., before finally moving to Bethesda, Md., where he spent
his formative years.

Stefan was educated at St. John's College in Annapolis, before enlisting in the U.S. Army. It
was while stationed in Germany that he found both his passion and career in filming and
photography. After completing his military service, he returned to Germany to work for Screen
Gems at Studio Hamburg. There, he met his first wife, Urte Petersen, the mother of his three
children.

For ten years Stefan produced and directed over 50 award winning films on a variety of subjects
for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and for the Federal Aviation Administration.
In 1976, Stefan started his own film production company, Stefan Dobert Productions, Inc. He
became renowned in the industry for his well-researched and scripted nature films, educating
and informing the public about numerous environmental issues. Over the years, he and his wife/
production partner Claire, traveled the Americas meeting, interviewing, and filming such
subjects as the Annual Spring Waterfowl Population Survey, the National Wildlife Refuge
Systems, the Federal Duck Stamp Program, all for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In
addition, a myriad of stories were produced for the U.S. Information Agency, the U.S. Office of
Personnel Management, and several conservation organizations.

The majority of his clients worked with him for years and often decades. And many of those
same clients became dear friends. Over the years he won over 50 CINE Golden Eagle awards
as well as numerous other video and film recognitions.
To this day his films are viewed and used in national parks throughout the U.S. and have
become part of our environmental legacy.

He is survived by his wife, Claire Guimond Dobert; daughter Sabrina, husband Andrew
Robinson and their three daughters, Lorelei, Sienna and Tessa of San Diego, Calif.; son Pascal
of Portland, Ore.; and son Alexander, his wife Denitsa and their three children, Katarina,
Sebastian and Matthias of Washington, D.C.; and brother Peter and his wife MerrieSue of
Portland, Ore.

Contributions in Stefan's honor can be made to the following organizations: Seasons Hospice &
Palliative Care, 6934 Aviation Blvd. Suite N-R, Glen Burnie, MD. 21061
www.seasonsfoundation.org. National Wildlife Refuge Association, 1001 Connecticut Ave, NW,
Suite 905, Washington, D.C., 20036

Stefan Sebastian Dobert

Stefan Sebastian Dobert

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