Maurice Shulman's Obituary
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.
What’s your fondest memory of Maurice Shulman?
What’s a lesson you learned from Maurice Shulman?
Share a story where Maurice Shulman's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Maurice Shulman you’ll never forget.
How did Maurice Shulman make you smile?