William "Bill" W. Schultz

Eager to meet his Savior, Jesus Christ, William W. Schultz passed away on Thursday, October 31, 2024 - a Perfect Day: Not too hot, not too cold, no bugs! - age 85. Born to William and Amelia Schultz at Harper Hospital on August 13, 1939, Bill grew up in the house that his father had built on Detroit’s Omira Street while working on the line at General Motors. A faithful member of Epiphany Lutheran Church for many years, Bill graduated from Marshall Elementary, Nolan Middle School, and Pershing High. Bill then registered for classes in Business Administration at the University of Michigan. Over the next four years, he would major in student government and social activities at Gomberg Hall (South Quad) where he made a group of lifelong friends that he would hold together through phone calls, gatherings, and emails for the next 60+ years. Among other activities, Bill and friends happened to be present at the Michigan Union to engage in shenanigans during the presidential candidate visit when Sen. John F. Kennedy famously introduced the idea of the Peace Corps to the student body. On April 1, 1963, his Selective Service Number came up and Bill was drafted into the United State Army. During his time in the Army, he received a Citation for Sharpshooter (Rifle) - which is no surprise to those who remember his decades of year-after-year antler trophies while controlling the white tail population with his father, uncles, aunts, and cousins at the extended family’s Mustache Hunting Club near Hubbard Lake (sometimes known as “The Greatest Place in the Whole World” … after a propaganda exercise that Bill initially played on a nephew in the mid-1980s). Early in his training at Fort Knox, an officer recognized his analytical abilities and typing skills and Bill was shipped to the US Army Engineer Center at Fort Belvoir where he earned a Certificate of Achievement for outstanding supervision (E-5) of his administrative section. In the reserves, he made a final grade of Staff Sergeant. After finishing his term of service and receiving an Honorable Discharge, Bill returned to his parents’ home in Detroit and began 36 years of employment with GM. While analyzing finances for GM, Bill finished his Business Administration Bachelors at Wayne State in 1968, where he was part of Beta Gamma, and went on to earn his WSU MBA in 1975. For the first several of those years in Detroit, his eldest niece and nephew lived four houses down the block - among many happy memories is the time that Bill and brother Ron delighted Christine and Joe by setting loose a literal “Easter bunny” in their house to wake them up on the morning of Resurrection Sunday. Some years after the Swaffords moved to Warren in 1971, a crib came to be reinstalled in his parents’ living room for the many opportunities of babysitting Jimmy, Michael, Paul, and Mark. During his second decade as an uncle, Bill enjoyed the children’s visits and was twice gladdened by them: first, to see them come; and second, to see them go home. It was around that time that Bill made his first five-year circuit of Holy Scripture with D. J. Vernon McGee’s Thru the Bible Radio. He would make the circuit nine more times as well as participating in many Bible studies in many places. While he was a consistent and faithful Lutheran parishioner over the years - Epiphany, Detroit; Faith, Troy; Holy Cross, Warren; Trinity, Traverse City - family members remember that Bill also found insights for living from Charles Swindoll and Dr. Jack Van Impe, among others. Over the last dozen and a half years of his life, Bill took St. Paul’s message in Titus 2:13 (vis. to look for the glorious appearing of our Savior Jesus) as a kind of summary of his outlook, consistently stating until the end that he expected Jesus to return during his lifetime. Always comfortable in a church, Bill stood as godfather to Christine, Paul, Mark, John, and Joy, and always kept them in mind of their baptism. His godchildren also remember that most of his stories about old friends included as a side note, “I stood up in their wedding.” In addition, Bill served as the default choice to say grace before any meal at a family gathering, owing to his booming voice and unabashed faith. A caring son, after his father’s death in 1984, Bill would move his mother to Troy and be her caregiver in her final years. His Schultz nephews and niece—Paul, Mark, John, and Joy— remember Uncle Bill as a bonus father figure who would relieve Ron and Sandy Schultz of the children’s care for a weekend a month in the 1990s and whisk PMJJ out to the boonies of Troy for private walks, the “behind-the-Christmas-tree” trick, Jet’s Pizza, and not-always-supervised County Drain exploration. In addition to making sure that “the Godchildren will always be fed at the Godfather’s house,” they remember Uncle Bill as living out a strong example of reading and meditating on the Word of God day and night on his own. In the fall, a weekend at Uncle’s House was as likely to include the viewing of a Michigan Wolverine football game as an Hour of Power broadcast. A faithful donor to the “Crystal Cathedral,” Bill received multiple aquiline statues from Robert Schuler over the years as a member of the “Eagle’s Club.” While Bill was always a consummate host, his retirement from GM and move north to Traverse City and to an Old Mission Peninsula hilltop with an eagle’s eye view of West Grand Traverse Bay, gave him a more spectacular field on which to practice the generous arts of hospitality. Friends remember overnight visits to his beloved home as filled with winery tours, blueberry picking, attending baseball games, and sitting on his deck admiring the Baltimore orioles, deer, and other frequent wildlife visitors. He was an active member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Traverse City, where he found a strong sense of community and purpose. Moving up north put Bill closer to Mackinac Island and saw years when he was a frequent and known guest at the Grand Hotel - perhaps climaxing in 2006, when he underwrote PMJJ in treating nearly two dozen friends and family members to a weekend at the Grand on the occasion of their parents’ 25th wedding anniversary. Bill’s later years afforded him repeated opportunities to visit Billy Graham’s “The Cove” complex near Asheville, NC, and to take in wonders like the Creation Museum and the Biltmore Estate along the way. A caretaker not only of the living, for decades Bill placed grave blankets and otherwise maintained burial plots for the extended Schultz family from Detroit to Alpena to Hubbard Lake and possibly others. While making trips to carry out this pious duty, he would sometimes drop in and visit folks unexpectedly, but always a pleasant surprise. Bill is survived by his sister, Karen (Joe) Swafford, his nieces/nephews Christine (Jim) Gold; Jim and Michael (Shauna) Swafford; Paul (Michelle), Mark, John (Elizabeth), and Joy [Brian] Schultz; his sister-in-law, Sandra Schultz; as well as many other extended family and friends. He was predeceased by his parents, William Schultz and Amelia (née Rakow) Schultz, nephew Joe Swafford III, younger brother, Ron Schultz, and niece-in-law Leslee Swafford. Visitation for Bill will be held on Thursday, November 7, at Reynolds Jonkhoff Funeral Home in Traverse City from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. A funeral service will be held on Friday, November 8, at Trinity Lutheran Church, TC, with visitation starting at 10:00 a.m. and the service at 11:00 a.m.; a luncheon will follow. Burial with military honors will take place on Saturday, November 9, at Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, Michigan at 10:30 a.m. Attendees are kindly asked to meet near the entrance of the cemetery one hour prior for an internal procession to the gravesite. Memorial donations may be made to Trinity Lutheran Church, honoring Bill’s memory and his commitment to his faith and community.

William "Bill" W. Schultz

August 13, 1939 - October 31, 2024