The Great Schultz

By Timothy D. Naegele[1]

Richard Schultz was a pistol. I met him through a mutual friend, Rich Thomas of Washington, D.C.—who covered the White House, Fed and other parts of our nation’s Capitol in the glory days of Newsweek magazine.[2] The three of us traveled on the Loon, his sailboat, essentially from his summer home at Northport near Traverse City, Michigan, visiting the Fayette Historic State Park, and staying overnight in its small harbor.[3]

Our goal had been to explore Green Bay, but our plans were truncated when the boat’s engine gave out. We had to be towed into a small harbor by the harbormaster, rather than risk smashing into rocks that guarded the harbor’s entrance. Perhaps it was this ordeal that bonded us, and we became fast friends.

During the winter months, he and his lovely wife Pauline would escape to their Spanish-styled home in the hills of Montecito, overlooking the Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara, California. It was an idyllic life, which was marred by her death at age 88[4], but he carried on.

Fires came close to the home, as did torrential rains and mudslides; and he wrote about them here.[5] What he did not say was how talented he was as a plastic surgeon. He had led teams of other doctors to parts of the world where they would offer free services to those in need. Nor did he mention the books and scholarly articles that he had written.[6]

Invariably, he would comment on my articles here, publicly or privately, always sharing his no-holds-barred, unvarnished truth. He was a rare and very loving individual, who never shied away from letting those close to him know what he believed. When one passes the mid-90s, you’ve earned it.

Like so many who have gone before, he is missed deeply.[7] But sentimentality was not one of his virtues. He would dismiss sappy accolades now, and tell us to get on with living—which is why he was and will always be the very special Great Schultz.

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© 2024, Timothy D. Naegele

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[1]  Timothy D. Naegele was counsel to the United States Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and chief of staff to Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal recipient and former U.S. Senator Edward W. Brooke (R-Mass).  See, e.g., Timothy D. Naegele Resume-21-8-6  and https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/accomplishments/   He has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as two law degrees from the School of Law (Boalt Hall), University of California, Berkeley, and from Georgetown University.  He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency at The Pentagon, where he received the Joint Service Commendation Medal (see, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commendation_Medal#Joint_Service).  Mr. Naegele is an Independent politically; and he is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business. He has written extensively over the years (see, e.g., https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/articles/ and https://naegeleknol.wordpress.com/articles/), and studied photography with Ansel Adams.  He can be contacted directly at tdnaegele.associates@gmail.com

[2]  See, e.g., https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/richard-thomas-obituary?id=6173328 (“RICHARD THOMAS Obituary (2021) – Rockville, DC – The Washington Post”)

[3]  See https://www2.dnr.state.mi.us/parksandtrails/Details.aspx?id=417&type=SPRK

[4]  See https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/pauline-schultz-obituary?pid=186453639

[5]  See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2018/03/26/get-out-now/ (“Disasters In Montecito: Get Out Now!”)

[6]  See, e.g., https://alumni.med.wayne.edu/alums/562509 (“Notable Alums, Richard Schultz”)

[7]  See https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2024/01/23/the-wonder-dog-is-dead-and-part-of-me-died-with-her/ (“The Wonder Dog Is Dead, And Part of Me Died With Her”) and https://naegeleblog.wordpress.com/2024/01/07/all-glory-is-fleeting/ (“All Glory Is Fleeting”)