A.W. teacher was football coach for area schools
george n. schoonmaker III, 1945-2011
9/1/2011George N. Schoonmaker III, a longtime Anthony Wayne High School teacher who chose his profession so he could coach football, died Tuesday at his home on Little Otter Lake near Fremont, Ind. He was 66.
He learned seven weeks ago that he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
Mr. Schoonmaker, formerly of South Toledo, moved in retirement to Little Otter Lake, where his family vacationed for decades.
He was hired in 1967 to teach at Anthony Wayne High School, and he remained there for 31 years.
"He said it took him four years to become a really good classroom teacher," his wife, Kathleen, said.
He taught government and sociology. He assigned his suburban students to find the challenges of central city living and return with evidence -- say, a receipt for an exorbitantly priced item from a corner grocery. His students also had to find the gems of city life and return with evidence -- maybe a receipt from a diner.
"He wanted the kids to know where our suburb got its strength," his wife said. "He wanted them to be compassionate about the struggles of living in the inner city and not be afraid of Toledo.
As he grew up, he was called "Bud" by his family and, later, "Schoonie" by friends, even students.
Football led him to teaching, and he hoped the classroom would lead him back to the gridiron. He was a 1962 graduate of DeVilbiss High School, where he ran track and played basketball and football. He attended Montana State University on a football scholarship. His teams won two Big Sky Conference championships.
"They expected [players] to live as men," his wife said. "They were cowboy tough."
He wanted to be a teacher, "because he thought that was the best way to be a coach. That's what led him to education. It was all about coaching."
At Anthony Wayne, he was an assistant football coach for eight years until, in 1976, he was named head coach.
He preferred to be an assistant, though, and in 1979 -- while continuing to teach at Anthony Wayne -- he commuted to the city to become an assistant football coach at the former Macomber-Whitney Vocational Technical High School.
"His favorite years coaching were with Macomber," his wife said. "Those kids didn't have much going for them but the love of the game."
He was an assistant coach in 1985 for Clay High School in Oregon and again at Anthony Wayne from 1986-98. After he moved, he was an assistant coach four years at Trine University, Angola, Ind.
He had a master's degree from the University of Toledo.
He was born Jan. 11, 1945, to Mildred and George N. "Gus" Schoonmaker, Jr. His father was a Toledo firefighter and retired in 1980 with the No. 1 badge for top seniority. His grandfather, George Nelson Schoonmaker, was principal engineer in design and construction of Toledo's water pumping and treatment works. The elder Mr. Schoonmaker was Toledo city manager from 1939-49 and a Lucas County commissioner from 1952-56.
"He was very proud of the work his grandfather did," his wife said.
His marriages to Judith Schoonmaker and the former Karen Handwork ended in divorce.
Surviving are his wife, Kathleen, whom he married June 19, 2002; stepson, Charles Duck; stepdaughters, Andrea Larranaga, Maureen Koltz, Priscilla Versee, Maggie Robertshaw, and Andrea Beguhn; brother, Randy Schoonmaker; and seven grandchildren.
Memorial services will be at 7 p.m. tomorrow at the Farnham Funeral Home, Temperance, where visitation will begin at 5 p.m.
The family suggests tributes to a charity of the donor's choice.
Contact Mark Zaborney at: mzaborney@theblade.com or 419-724-6182.