Maurice Shulman

June 23, 1917 - September 6, 2013

Maurice R. Shulman, 96, of Vandalia, passed away on Friday, September 6, 2013, at his home. Hohlt and File Funeral Home in Vandalia is in charge of arrangements. Visitation will be held from 5:00-7:00pm, Monday, September 9, 2013 at Hohlt & File Funeral Home. A private family burial will be at a later date. Memorials: The Golda Shulman Scholarship Fund, c/o the First National Bank of Vandalia, 311 Banker Blvd., Vandalia, IL 62471. Mr. Shulman was born on June 23, 1917, in Jackson, TN, the son of Meyer and Minnie Hesselsohn Shulman. He married Golda Wertheimer on July 23, 1941, in Houston, TX; she died on June 6, 2000. He was a partner in Shulman Brothers Oil Producers which has had offices in Vandalia since 1938.  He was a member of Temple Solomon, Centralia, IL.  He was a loving and devoted husband, and an affectionate and caring father, grandfather, great grandfather, brother, and uncle who took great interest and pride in his family's accomplishments big and small, and their close relationships with one another. Maurice graduated from Jackson High School in 1935 where among other activities he was quarterback and captain of the undefeated, untied, unscored upon, newspaper-proclaimed 1934 Tennessee State Champion football team.  After high school, he attended the University of Texas, graduating with a L.L.B. (law degree) in 1941, passed the Texas Bar, married, and joined his brothers in business in Illinois. He was in the Navy World War II; despite qualifying for potential service exemptions as oil workers, he and his brothers, Joe and Isadore, all served and were deployed overseas.  Maurice attended basic training and torpedo school in San Diego, midshipman training in Chicago, and amphibious operations school at Little Creek, VA.  He was assigned to Landing Ship Medium (LSM) 54 which he boarded at the Brown Shipyard in Houston for sea trails off of Galveston.  Upon completion of the sea trials, LSM 54 traveled as a lone vessel through the Panama Canal to the Pacific Theater.  There as the flotilla General McArthur came ashore in the famous picture of his return to the Philippines.  As the war ended, Maurice's ship was involved in the planning for the invasion of Japan.  He was discharged with the rank of LTJG. As a youth he was a caddie.  At the University of Texas, he was a non-traveling member of the golf team coached by Harvey Penick.  During his adult years, he was an avid golfer; he was a Vandalia Country Club Champion in 1955; and shot  in the 50's several times on the then par 66 Vandalia Country Club Course.  His most cherished golfing memory was making his first hole-in-one at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs at the age of 66 during his son Todd's wedding weekend, witnessed by all four of his sons (Marc at the green, Rand, Ken, and Todd playing with him); his sons were living in Ohio, Texas, Massachusetts, and Colorado at the time and rarely, if ever, had the chance to play together and with their father.  Maurice was the youngest of 9 children, 8 of whom married; he was last of his generation of the Shulman family which lasted 117 years (his oldest sister was born in 1896). In addition to his wife and parents, he was predeceased by his brothers and their wives: Harry and Nell; and Joe, Jake and Billie, and Isadore and Ruth all of Vandalia; his sisters and their husbands: Dot (formerly of Vandalia) and Lou Levin, Yetta and Erwin Goldschmidt, Rachel and Jay Moskovitz, and Rosyrie and B.C. Quekemeyer; and his nephews: Frank Trotter and John Weil.   He is survived by all 38 of his and his wife Golda's descendants. Their children: Rand and Karen Meseke Shulman of Austin, TX, Marc and Susan Babbitt Shulman of Naples, FL, Ken Shulman and Susie Spector, of Boston, MA, Minna Shulman and Stephen Rotman of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and Todd and Janet Walsh Shulman of Vandalia.  Their grandchildren:  Rand and Karen's daughters - John and Edie Shulman Shumaker, Sara Shulman and Jacque Barton all of Austin, TX, and Peter and Jill Shulman Digebjerg of Antwerp, Belgium; Marc and Susan's daughter and son - Dave and Liz Shulman Whaley of Las Vegas, NV, and Joe Shulman and Jessie Hanrahan of Auburndale, MA; Ken and Susie's sons - Max Shulman and Prentiss Benjamin of Astoria, NY, and Jackson of Minneapolis, MN; Minna and Steve's son and daughters - Daniel Rotman and Megan Ainscow of Montreal, Canada, Maia of Brooklyn, NY, and the twins Anna a student at Brown, and Katie, a student at Oberlin College; and Todd and Janet's sons - Jake and Scott Shulman. Their Great Grandchildren:  Edie and John's children - Michael, a student at University of Chicago, and Marissa; Jill and Peter's children - Tucker, Jax, and Ava; Liz and Dave's sons - Owen and Kai; and Joe and Jessie's daughter, Emma. He is also survived by his sister-in-law, Golda's twin sister, Gertrude Graves of Houston, many loving nephews and nieces and their offspring including his brothers' and sisters' children:  Harry's children, Fred and Molly Shulman Kellogg of Washington D.C., and David and Becky Shulman of San Antonia , TX; Isadore's son and daughters-in-law, Robert and Jeanne Shulman of Atlanta, GA, and Shelley Weil of San Francisco, CA; and Rachel's daughters, Carol Schaeffer of Portland and Devra Trotter of Marietta, GA. The family wishes to thank Maurice's caregivers:  Tonya Smock and Rochelle Bon for their lone term care of, loving relationship with, and concern for him; Megan Boatright, Mary Alice Smith, and Kelsey Dugan for their service and caring for Maurice; and to Tonya, Rochelle, Megan, Mary, Kelsey, and Sherri Wollin for their acute care and gentle loving way with him during his final days.  The family also thanks the Fayette County Health Department Home Health and Hospice and Doctor Skow.