James J Schutz

James “Jim” Schutz had an infectious love for life. To know him was to be delighted by stories of his many global adventures and charmed by his kindness, teasing, and laughter. His capacity to be a human calculator multiplying, dividing, subtracting and adding a series of numbers in his head faster than most could use a calculator was a unique skill—and one of his favorite ways to have fun with people. Everyone who met him was made better by his faith in God, love for family, and the goodness he saw in each person he met. Jim died at his family home of 66 years in Ralston, NE, at the age of 95 surrounded by family.

Jim had many brushes with death across the decades of his life, perhaps this is what made life so precious to him. The removal of a brain tumor in 1939 at the age of 10 put him on the cover of a section of the Omaha World Herald. This was followed by testicular cancer in his 30’s, colon cancer in his 60’s, a major stroke that left him paralyzed on the left side of his body in his 80’s, and aspiration followed by a three-day ICU stay and many cases of sepsis in his 90’s. He simply referred to all these as “bumps in the road” and worked to quickly move on to a next adventure. Jim lived with deep faith, joy and appreciation. Two things you would hear him say frequently and genuinely were “thank you” and “this is my favorite.”

Born in Hebron, NE to Thomas and Velma Schutz, Jim’s childhood was spent on the family farm in the company of his parents and sister, Lila. Following graduation from Hebron High School, work in a meat packing plant convinced him he wanted a different kind of future. On the day he learned he was ineligible for the military due to his medical history, he enrolled at Creighton University in Omaha. After graduating from Creighton University School of Pharmacy, he met and six months later married Myrna Lee McNair. They had nearly 67 years together before her death in 2021. Jim loved to say, “she smiled at me and that was the end of me!”

Jim had a 37-year career as a drug and hospital representative for Bristol-Myers Squibb. He continued to enthusiastically learn and to share his learnings about new pharmaceuticals across his career. What he loved most about his work was all the people he got to meet and engage with every day.

Jim and Myrna raised six children together, with the eldest born in 1955 and the youngest in 1962. They were early congregants and life-long members of St. Gerald’s Catholic Church in Ralston, NE. They were also avid Creighton Blue Jay fans, following boys’ and girls’ basketball with season passes for nearly 50 years. Husker football was another great love. In young adulthood Jim paced his house and moved from television in the den to radio announcements in the living room pulling his hair, pacing, and cheering or moaning better than any coach walking the sidelines. A once-a-month poker club that Jim started with Creighton buddies in his 20’s continued into his early 90’s. Jim and Myrna belonged to bridge and pinocle clubs for nearly as many years. While Jim delighted in gardening and growing dahlias, Myrna, his perfect companion, loved nothing more than weeding. Jim also enjoyed hunting on the family farm and fishing, particularly his annual fishing trips to Canada.

While their many activities and raising kids kept them busy in the early years of their married life, they didn’t miss a beat as they closed that chapter to begin a life of adventure. They delighted in traveling throughout the U.S. and to a myriad of countries across the world. Jim and Myrna traveled to every state in the U.S. except for Hawaii—and that was only because they didn’t believe anything could top Fiji! They chose different state fairs to travel to each year and looked for every other excuse to make regular road trips, from day trips to weeks at a time.

They flew to some of the most exotic places in the world, armed only with travel books and no real plan. Their early strategy was to get established and then follow people’s suggestions and their own interests, sometimes staying somewhere for a single day, other times for a week or more. In later years they traveled with small tour groups. The places they traveled include: South Africa, Lesotho, Kenya, Botswana, Namibia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Morocco, the Galapagos Islands, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra, China, Croatia, Estonia, Czechoslovakia, Bosnia, Russia, Turkey, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, England, Germany, Netherlands, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Caribbean Islands, Bermuda, and most of the provinces of Canada—Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward.

Family loved to hear their many tales. There were harrowing tales of paddling with bare hands in the piranha infested waters of the Amazon after a boat’s motor failed, being mugged on the streets of Santiago, Chile and Myrna jumping on the perpetrators back to join Jim in fighting them off, and Myrna climbing in the window of a race car to be raced around the track for a few circuits at 160 miles per hour. There were also fun stories of people opening their closed restaurant just to cook them and their travel companions a lobster dinner, and a man they befriended on a plane helping them get a taxi to travel to his hotel when they landed in Brazil and then giving them the use of his Portuguese speaking driver the next day for sight-seeing.

Jim’s avocation in retirement was to spend hours each day studying the stock market and investing. For him this was as much about studying and understanding the world as it was about investment. He found it fascinating and important, and worked to share his learnings and the importance of investing with his children and grandchildren.

Jim and Myrna’s home in Ralston was the center of family life for their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. They were active fans at every family member’s activity and lit up when they had the opportunity to spend time with one or all of them. Their small home had the capacity to expand each Christmas, Easter, 4th of July, and Thanksgiving to hold their ever-growing family.

Jim was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Myrna, as well as his parents. He is survived by his children Jim (Jane) Schutz, Terry Schutz, Susan (Dave) Harycki, Deb (Jeff) Nosekabel, Diane (Dale) Kinney, and Mike (Judy) Schutz, and his sister Lila (Dick) Day. Also surviving him are grandchildren: Stacy Rosman, Amy (Todd) Mach, Alison (Micah) Gallagher, Adam (Ally) Schutz, Danny Schutz (Jill Richards), Jamie Schutz (Shane King), Stephen Schutz, K-Lee (Ben) Thompson, Mikah Hart (Preston Long), Jake (Lindsay) Moore, David Kinney (Aundria Thorne), Scott (Sara) Kinney, Mark (Jessica) Kinney, Rachel (Brian) Kocol; and 23 great grandchildren (with 3 on the way).

Thank you to Jim’s many angel caregivers for making it possible for him to remain in his home over these last seven post stroke years. Jim and Myrna’s greatest wish was to remain in their home as long as possible. Both took their last breaths there. His children are certain they heard Jim say, “kiss me quick, Myrna, I’m home,” as he entered the heavenly gates—words they heard each night as Jim returned home from work during their childhood to his beloved wife.

VISITATION: Thursday, June 27, 2024 at 6:00 pm at Kahler-Dolce Mortuary, 441 No Washington St, Papillion, Nebraska with Vigil Service at 7:00 pm. MASS OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL will be held on Friday, June 28, 2024 at 10:00 am at St. Gerald’s Lakeview Chapel, 7857 Lakeview St, Ralston, Nebraska. Interment to follow at Evergreen Memorial Park Cemetery, 2300 South 78th Street, Omaha, NE. Family and friends are invited to join in a luncheon celebration of Jim’s life being held at The Granary/Bushwackers Back Bar (5555 Granary Plaza, Ralston, NE 68127) immediately following internment.

Memorials may be directed to: St. Gerald’s Catholic Church, the Alzheimer’s Association, St. Jude’s Hospital, or a charity of your choice.