Posted on 11/09/2018
Robert Henry Schulz, 97, of Athens, died Sunday, Oct. 21, 2018, at OhioHealth O'Bleness Hospital.
Born June 5, 1921, in St. Louis, Mo., he was the son of the late Robert and Charlotte Schulz. He grew up in St. Louis and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on June 9, 1943. As a midshipman, he met Barbara Windsor in church in 1942, and they were married Sept. 2, 1944. Disappointed when hearing loss prevented his receiving a naval commission, he sought civilian wartime work as an engineer.
Until retiring in 1991, he worked as an engineer for Dupont, Honeywell, Dunhan-Bush and Hussman, and for his own firm for 10 years. The couple and their growing family lived in Leomaster, Mass., St. Louis, Mo., Memphis, Tenn., Hernando, Miss., Wauwatosa, Wis., and Euclid, Ohio. They moved to Athens in 1997 from Euclid. The two traveled throughout the states in an RV they named "Little-putt," and abroad.
In Athens, until moving to The Lindley Inn in May, he pedaled a fat-tired trike on the HockHocking Adena Bikeway from his Meadow Lane home to Holzer Clinic, with passersby recalling his big smile. An avid woodcarver, he was a member of the Southeast Ohio Woodturners, creating for family and friends dozens of music boxes, bowls and pens - the latter from the wood of one-time church pews. He began playing accordion in his early teens in St. Louis beer halls and was still performing in his mid-90s at The Lindley Inn. He also was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, a volunteer at O'Bleness Memorial Hospital, and an enthusiastic bridge player. He especially enjoyed following his grandchildren on social media.
He is survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Carl and Dorothy Schulz of Cincinnati, Ohio; sister-in-law, Shirley Moore of Annapolis, Md.; five sons, Richard of Des Moines, Iowa, Robert (Betsy Zonneville) of Germantown, Wis., James (Ellen Gerl) of Athens, John (Sheila) of Albert Lea, Minn., and Paul (Eileen Delehanty) of Athens; 10 grandchildren, Robert, Ellen, Gregory, Kyle, Kalia, Alaina, Sydney, Galen, Riley and Hannah; seven great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. He also is survived by a special daughter, Nguyet Dao of Los Angeles, who joined the Schulz family as a teen in 1976 after fleeing Vietnam, and her children, Kim, Vanessa and Daniel.
Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife of 64 years, Barbara, who died Jan. 26, 2009; and his sister and brother-in-law, Marie and Bob Cotterman.
A celebration of his life will be held Friday, Nov. 23, at 3 p.m. at Athens First Presbyterian Church. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations to OhioHealth Hospice.
Published in The Athens Messenger on Nov. 11, 2018