Richard Frank Schulte, Sr.

Richard Frank Schulte, Sr. passed away at age 87 on July 30th. His death concluded an outstanding life! He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Suzanne, four children, Jeff (Kathryn), Molly (David), Richard (Jessica) and Suzanne (Rick), as well as 8 grandchildren, Jeffrey, Kirsten, Elizabeth, Mary, Olivia, James, Cooper and Becker. He is also survived by his sister, Myra Manderfield and many nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his brother, Bill Schulte and sister, Betty Schilling.

Richard was born in Northern Kentucky outside Cincinnati where he proudly attended St. Xavier High School. He remained a loyal “Bomber” after his time on the football field, and even returned to coach in later years. His love of sport was outweighed only by his love for education. He graduated from Xavier University with a BA in English, completed his Masters in English at Ohio University and worked diligently on a law degree while simultaneously starting his career.

With his educational credentials tucked under his arm, he set his sights on the world’s largest consumer products company, Proctor & Gamble. Unannounced, Richard marched into P&G world headquarters and was hired within a week to the executive training program. He grew into a gifted marketing and advertising executive and built many lifelong friendships in the process.

In 1972, a chance meeting changed his professional life. While visiting P&G in Cincinnati, the CEO of Deltona Corporation, Frank Mackle, Jr., met with Richard to request a promotional campaign. A relationship formed and an offer to join Deltona followed. In a bold move and to the dismay of his colleagues, he left his beloved P&G and moved his young family to Miami, FL.

He excelled at Deltona where he became President and a Member of the Board of Directors. To expand Deltona’s success, he created a sales and marketing organization that spanned the United States, Western Europe, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Pacific Rim. He enjoyed his frequent travel to global offices, never failing to bring home surprises for his children. The company’s prized development, Marco Island, was where Richard created multi-family projects including Mariner, Seawatch, Royal Seafarer and The Summit House condominiums, as well as the largest of Deltona’s beach assets, The South Seas Club. He conceived and designed homes that would appeal to a worldwide audience. He shared and expanded Frank Mackle’s vision of Marco Island as a second home sanctuary away from the bustle of daily life. His beachfront projects reflect that vision and purposefully excluded commercial or retail development. His marketing organization also produced the annual Tony Lema Memorial Golf Tournament celebrating philanthropy and friendship; values he held above most others. Richard’s vision while at Deltona helped lay the foundation for what Marco Island is today.

Following Deltona, he launched his own real estate marketing company Florida First Properties, helped grow Palm Coast, FL as an executive with ITT and finished his career with The Executive Committee (TEC) helping CEOs across Florida build their companies.

Aside from a noteworthy career, Richard was a skilled golfer, belonging to Coldstream Country Club in Cincinnati, Riviera in Coral Gables, Eagle Creek in Naples and The Island Club on Marco Island where he played into his 80s. He was a die-hard Notre Dame football fan, a devout Catholic, a leader, a loving spouse, an adoring father and grandfather, and most notably, a friend to all, which his family attributes to his engaging personality and remarkable intelligence. He will be forever missed when the family gathers for those famous Marco sunsets and cocktails that he loved so much.

“Remember, George: no man is a failure who has friends. You see, George, you've really had a wonderful life.”

- Clarence, It’s a Wonderful Life