It is with great sadness that I advise of the passing of Ralph Schuler, father of our fellow member and friend, Rich Schuler. Ralph passed away peacefully surrounded by his family in Chicago, and will be greatly missed. 



Ralph, along with his wife Donna, was a regular winter visitor to the NLTC when they would both come down to spend snowbird time with Rich. He was a keen tennis player in his time and he loved to come down on Tuesdays to watch everyone play. He also enjoyed spending time with our players from the NLTC who have gone up to Chicago through the years for the summertime Conchshell Tournament.



We send our sincere condolences to Rich and the entire Schuler clan, many of whom we are also well acquainted with from their many visits to Nassau and the NLTC.



Yours In Tennis

Bill Thomson

President

I worked for Ralph as a caregiver for about a year. He was one of my favorite clients!! My heart is indeed broken, because he was so nice to me!! It was a pleasure working for you Sir!

Rest in peace!

With heavy hearts we extend our deepest condolences to Donna and family of Ralph Schuler who passed away on July 13, 2021.

The first time Donald and Ralph met was at Barrie field in Oak Park when Ralph’s son Steven and our son Jim joined the same baseball (T-ball?) team. Ralph and Don became instant friends when they both mentioned graduating from DePaul University and were also White Sox fans.

There is no doubt that Ralph was a true scholar. We went to Ireland with Ralph and Donna in 2001 and were amazed at all the books he was carrying when we met them at the airport.

We have many wonderful memories that brighten our days now that we are old folks. One of my fondest is when Ralph and Donna bicycled to our house and he yelled from the driveway, “Yo, Donnie and Rosie, can you come out and play?” We invited them to our back yard and spent the whole day together. It was a wonderful time and we will cherish all the memories we’ve shared through the years.

I am a better person for having known Ralph. My wife once described him as an intellectual posing as a truck driver. I knew him in his many roles particularly as a very effective school department chairman aka ring master of a group of idiosyncratic teachers, i.e. an early very out spoken woman lib advocate, a person who came to school with a paper bag over his head when told by the administration that they didn't want to see his beard again,  a WW II veteran who on the last day of school would allow students to put their finger in a hole in his shoulder put there by a German snipper. These were just a sampling of the cast of characters Ralph had to "supervise". It is a tribute to his people skills that he did it and did it well. For me it was fun watching him do it. Al Popowits

 Anna María and myself are saddened and send our deepest condolences .
   He was a true gentleman and we remember him either playing or watching you and
Matt at the courts .
    We enjoyed conversing with him and Mrs at the porch
and he always had something nice to say to us .
    Will be missed

Anna Maria and Joe Landolfo

To Mrs. Donna Schüler and the entire Schuler Family,

Your grand man's legacy is each of you, Ralph the progenitor of beauty and character and astounding wisdom reflects in each of you. His spirit lives in your hearts and will always.

Don

I want to express my deepest condolences to my Aunt Donna and all my sweet Schuler cousins. Theresa told all in our family about Ralph's passing on 7/13. I just learned so much reading his obituary- things I never knew- like your awesome house on Lombard Ave was the one he grew up in! We loved visiting our "city" cousins and how exciting and scary it was to sneak down the stairs to watch the trains go by and jump off those sky high meter platforms in the diving pool at Barrie Park. My memory of Ralph is that he always seemed to be laughing and he had such a unique and charming chuckle. In fact, I can hear it in my head now. He was always joking and bringing positive energy. I have no memories of him even being mad- though I know you Schuler kids got into a lot of trouble we Vastine kids (such angels that we were as teens) had no idea about. He was genuinely interested in all his extended family (us nieces and nephews) and always gave us some sort of history lesson. He had a passion for education, reading and history. I picture him in tennis clothes, always with a sweat band across his forehead. I wish I had him for history in high school as I don't seem to remember much, only that my teachers were boring. I think I am the only Vastine that has been to Nags Head, though after getting hooked on the Netflix show "Outer Banks" I really want to come! When I play tennis with my grown boys at the local courts- I always imagine Ralph playing with you Schuler boys. He was a beloved uncle and I will cherish him in my heart. Love to you all in this time,
Kathy

Ralph Alfred Schuler May 14th 1932 to July 13th 2021

On Tuesday July 13th Ralph passed away peacefully at his home in River Forest in the company of his wife, sons and daughters. He is survived by his loving wife Donna Rae, sister Jane Cutt, and children Rich, Laura (John) (Reardon), Bill, Stephen (Mary Jo) and Stacy (Eric) (Wettstein). There are also 11 grandchildren: Matt, Nate and Ellen (Schuler). Keith, Audrey and Caroline (Reardon), Andrea and Ryan (Schuler) and Julia, Henry and Anna (Wettstein). He also has one great grandchild Presley Reardon.

It was important to him that everybody knew that he was happy to have loved and pushed them all. He also wanted everyone to know that his parents Ralph and Martha started this out by loving and pushing him.

Ralph was a career educator and used to joke that the “ only time I left high school was to go to college”. He taught high school history first at DePaul Academy and then for countless years at East Leyden high school. Beside teaching and being very involved as a teacher union negotiator he coached high school tennis for both boys and girls. When he retired, he was the chairman of the history department.

Ralph raised his family in the same home he grew up in on Lombard Avenue in Oak Park. Unlike Ralph, who attended Ascension and Fenwick, all of his kids and grandchildren attend OPRF. Ralph loved that park of Oak Park because of its proximity to Barry Park for his kids, Famous Liquors on Roosevelt for himself and La Majada restaurant for all of us.
Ralph’s passions besides history and teaching were tennis, poetry and reading.. He installed that same passion for tennis and the OPTC for many family members and friends. His poetry which did not always rhyme was most often composed in Nags Head NC and usually after a couple of frosty beers. He loved his reading group, The Old Bulls and their discussions. One of his favorite quotes was “don’t let a few facts get in the way of a good story.” His stories were as legendary as his jokes were bawdy.
Ralph’s story would not be complete without a mention of his life long best friend Don Gancer. Ralph and Don met at Ascension grammar school and were still sharing beers together just days before he left us. Ralph had way too many friends to mention but he did want a shout out to his best man Terry McCarthy.
Ralph’s wife Donna was the love of his life. They shared many interests. Their top priority was their 5 children. Did I mention that he wanted everyone to know that he loved and pushed them? They exposed us to so much including historical places, battle fields, presidents homes, great music, copious amounts of food, great friends and mentors and most importantly our love for the ocean and Nags Head NC. That love of Nags Head is demonstrated in the fact that all his children and most of his grandchildren are headed to OBX for the over 50th summer while most of you are reading this.

Ralph’s life was complete and joyous. I could go on for pages so I will end with a bunch of adjectives that I am sure everyone who knew him could add to. Compassionate, interesting, funny, incredible host, great listener, better storyteller, advocate for civil rights, prolific White Sox fan ……

Great last memories for his family is that that Ralph’s last White Sox game was won in the 10th inning and that he asked for and ate ice cream, which he so loved, just before he passing.

We will remember him at a celebration of life in late August at the OPTC where will tell great stories, share memories and of course some of us will play a little tennis. He will be watching us.

Below is the link to an online memorial page where we encourage everyone to add stories, pictures and thoughts.

Ralph Alfred Schuler, (1932 - 2021) - ForeverMissed.com Online Memorials

In lieu of flowers please see below links for a few charities that he supported.

Donate | Oak Park River Forest Museum (oprfmuseum.org)

Make a Tax-Deductible Gift to the ACLU Foundation | American Civil Liberties Union

Donate - River Forest Public Library Foundation (rfplfoundation.org)