H.M. Schubert, “Hank” to his friends and “Mr. Schubert” to everyone else, passed from life to death on October 3, 2008 after a valiant fight with leukemia.  Dad was born on August 25, 1922 in Harriman, Tennessee, the tenth of eleven children of Henry William and Lizzie (Sitzler) Schubert.

     Dad joined the Navy as soon as he was old enough to do it.  After eighteen years of being no farther away from home than fifty miles, he longed for distance and excitement; he got both, but not in the way he hoped.  WWII broke out after Dad had been assigned to the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Hornet; he faithfully served on that ship every single day that the ship was afloat.  When the U.S.S. Hornet went down in the Battle of Santa Cruz, October 24, 1942, Dad went into the ocean, where he stayed alive for two days waiting to be rescued.  The U.S.S. Morrison finally plucked him from the sea and he went on to serve on several more ships.

     Dad saw many of the most important engagements in the Pacific during WWII, including Doolittle’s Raid, the Battle of Midway and the Battle of Iwo Jima.  He acquiring the rank of Chief Petty Officer and the status of being on of the youngest men to do so.  From being fifty miles away from home at the beginning of WWII, Dad eventually set foot on five other continents: his dreams of distance and excitement had been well met.

     Dad greatly loved his family, fondly remembering sweet stories to share with the children and grandchildren.  One such story was how his parents originally met.  It seems that his dad was walking to a church, where he was to be married later that day.  However, when he passed a particular house, he became interested in watching a pretty young woman cleaning the front porch.  He stayed a while there watching her sweep and dust, moving the furniture around as was necessary.  Finally, he resumed his walk to the church.

     When he arrived there, instead of marrying the woman waiting for him, he gently informed her that he couldn’t marry her because he loved someone else.  Then he went back to the young woman cleaning the porch, introduced himself and married her several weeks later.

     Dad was no less a romantic than his father.  He married our mom, Shirley, having three sons and one daughter with her.  As life went on, he shared his life with Kay and her son and daughter; then LaVonne and her daughter; and finally Normagene and her two sons and daughter.  Dad loved all these children as dearly as he loved us; they became a beloved and permanent part of his life and remain so to this day.

     Dad’s life after the Navy revolved around his passion, medical technology, and he worked in this field in big hospitals in St. Louis, Missouri and in smaller hospitals in Oklahoma and Kansas.  For as much as Dad loved the South, he was more comfortable and at home in the Midwest, where he chose to live his life.

     Dad loved life passionately, especially being outdoors, hunting, sports and gardening.  He also loved entertaining his many friends with his wit, his stories and his music.  He shared his life and everything he had in it gladly and freely.

     Henry Mitchell Schubert was a good man with a good heart, blessed with loving family and friends.  We love him dearly and will miss him every day.