Dr. Joseph F. Schell

Charlotte - Dr. Joseph F. Schell passed on to the Lord on February 5, 2022. He is survived by his loving wife of 67 years, Irene Duzy Schell; eight children; 14 grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren. Born and raised in Miamisburg, Ohio, Joe was the third of five children of Isidore and Mary Schell. He attended Chaminade High School, and then the University of Dayton, and Indiana University, where he earned Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Mathematics. In Dayton, he joined the Mathematics faculty at the University of Dayton in 1957, and later worked for Wright Patterson Air Force Base. In 1961, he moved his growing family of five to Fort Walton Beach, Florida, to work at Eglin Air Force base, helping to design a special sliderule while there.

In 1964, Joe, Irene, and family came to Charlotte, where he joined the Mathematics faculty at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Joe was Mathematics Chair from 1967 to 1980, when he changed focus to pioneer the Computer Science Department as Chair. He also worked part-time with IBM. He lived for over 30 years in the Dilworth area, where the last four of his eight children were born.

The Catholic faith was at the center of his life; he attended St. Patrick’s, St. Vincent de Paul, and Our Lady of Assumption Catholic churches. Joe was a regular reader at Sunday and daily masses, and was among the first lay Eucharistic ministers. With his family, he frequently assisted with homework, Cub Scouts, building playhouses and toys; he joyfully tossed one kid after another up into the air, or in a pool and caught us until his arms wore out.https://admin.mem.com/sso/admin/default.aspx

Joe was blessed by many years of retirement, which were intensely dedicated to preparing and leading classes to deepen understanding of the Bible and sharing his faith in God. Joe loved to garden, excited by the new blooms as they appeared each year. He enjoyed solving crossword and jigsaw puzzles, making music on his collection of recorders, tinkering in the basement on the wood lathe, organizing ad infinitum on his computer system, teasing and provoking his children and grandchildren, and eagerly sharing his latest project. His sense of humor was of the “punny” kind, with wordplay and wit, often at the listener’s expense. He whistled nearly every day. His last home was the Aldersgate Retirement Center.

Joseph is fondly remembered by Irene, his wife; children, Veronica, Michael, Kevin, Patrick, Mary, Renee, Joseph, and Edmund.

His funeral mass will be held at St. Vincent’s Catholic Church on Friday, February 11, 2022 at 1:30 pm. Burial will follow at Sharon Memorial Park.

Recitation of the rosary will be at 6 pm on Thursday, February 10th, followed by visitation until 8 pm at McEwen Funeral Service-Pineville Chapel. The family welcomes anyone who wishes to join us in celebrating a life well-lived, a race well run.

Memorial contributions may be made to Holy Angels, 6600 Wilkinson Blvd., Belmont, NC 28012 or to Catherine’s House, 141 Mercy Dr., Belmont, NC 28012.