Category: Obituary: S

The Rev. A. John Skeirik, 88, died March 7, 2007 in Brewster, MA, of kidney failure. He was ordained in 1947 as a Methodist minister and received UUA Final Fellowship in 1965. John served Methodist pastorates NY and Massachusetts and UU ministries in Sherborn and Reading, MA, Hollis, NY and Middleboro, MA where he was named minister emeritus. After retirement John and Betsey continued to live on Cape Cod. He had a second career as a multi-media specialist and served as an assistant librarian in public schools. John was an exceptional amateur photographer, and enjoyed carving objects with his wood-carving power tools. He and Betsey also enjoyed travel, including a number of trips to Europe. He donated time to the library of the Cape Cod Museum of Natural His-tory. One of his colleagues writes, “John was an uncomplicated, transparently kind, and genuinely liberal minister, one without a mean bone in his body.” He was survived by his wife of 59 years, Betsey, a brother and a sister. A memorial service was held March 24 in Chatham, MA.

Dorothy Simonetti, 95, widow of the Rev. Leon Strock Simonetti died July 7, 2006 in Auburn, IN. They served churches in Athol, MA; and Utica, Barneveld and Little Falls, NY. She was a member of the Unitarian Church in Fort Wayne, IN. Her husband died in 1968. She is survived by a daughter, Donna Russell, in Waterloo, IN.

Elizabeth Spafford Schmidt, 90, widow of the Rev. Harold E. Schmidt, died February 23, 2006 in Walnut Creek, CA. She had outlived her first husband of 54 years, Ernest Clifford Spafford, as well as her second husband of 13 years. Harold was minister at the First Unitarian Society of Stockton, CA, from 1958-74. Elizabeth held a BA in Biology and an MA. in education, and taught at the secondary level for the Stockton Unified School District. Lovers of travel, Elizabeth and Ernest once took their family to Europe for six months, each taking a leave of absence from teaching. She is survived by a daughter, Edith Gladstone of Berkeley, and a son, Alden Spafford of Oakland, and one granddaughter.

The Rev. Dr. Jacob Frank Schulman, 78, died Jan. 4, 2006 from cancer. He served at Arlington Street Church, Boston; and churches in Worcester, MA; Youngstown, OH; Emerson Unitarian Church in Houston, TX, where he was later Minister Emeritus; Horsham, England; and Huntsville, TX; and at Harris Manchester College, Oxford University. He was a prolific writer of books, pamphlets, and articles. He delivered the Berry Street Essay, 1981; Minns Lectures, 1982; and the Billings Lecture, 1983. Mr. Schulman also served in the U.S. Navy, World War II and the Korean War. He is survived by his wife Alice Southworth Schulman, and four children. A service was held January 8 at Emerson Unitarian Church.

The Rev. Philip Charles Schug, 91, died Nov. 18, 2005 after a long illness. He served congregations in San Antonio, TX; Urbana, IL; and Lincoln, NE, retiring in 1983. He is survived by two daughters, Mary Margaret Belk and Theeta Ann Paynter. His remains were scattered in his daughter’s vast field of bluebonnets in New Braumsuls, TX, near San Antonio. A memorial service for the Schugs was held Feb. 26, 2011 at the First UU Church of San Antonio.

The Rev. Dr. Ralph N. Schmidt, Sr., 94, died July 4, 2005 at the Presbyterian Home for Central New York. He served congregations in Herkimer and Utica, NY, where the UU Church of Utica named him minister emeritus in 1981. Previously, he taught at Maryville (WI) High School. He was a professor at Jamestown College in ND; Lafayette College in Easton, PA; and Syracuse University. Syracuse offered him a position to help establish a new college in Utica. Surviving are sons Ralph N., Jr. of Annandale, VA, and Carl E.D., Sr. of Sauquoit, NY; five grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. His wife, Wilda Delay, predeceased him in 2001.