June 26Th. 2009
Blessings :Roderick Edward
Schoenlank of Pillar Point Harbor died on June 26, 2009, of congestive
heart
failure at the Palo Alto Veterans Hospital. His death came less than a
week
before his eighty-eighth birthday.
He
was a well-known and well-loved figure on the coast, where he lived for
more
than twenty years aboard his boat, the Lao Tzu, named for the Taoist
Chinese
writer of the 6th century B.C.
Rod Schoenlank was born on July 2, 1921, in Linden, New Jersey, to Edward G. Schoenlank and Irene Hecker Schoenlank. He was a highly decorated lieutenant in the U.S. Army.
He served in WWII, and was stationed for several years in Germany as a public information officer. After returning to the States, he lived in Muskegon, Michigan, and Granite City, Illinois.
He served as president of Westran Steel in Muskegon, and was a founding member of the United Way.
He was a longtime member of Mensa International and a Director of the Granite City Chamber of Commerce, which under his tenure was awarded “Model City USA” status.
There were other jobs as well: Schoenlank workd as an industrial psychologist for a company that made food for zoos, and worked in radio in New Jersey and California.
At the age of fifty, his life took a dramatic turn. He took up travel and woodcarving, finally arriving in Half Moon Bay in 1987.
He he was proud of his military service, but his bearing was anything but military: He favored tie-dye or purple, the ensemble topped with a crocheted skullcap.
Over the years
Rod Schoenlank
built a web of connections to the community around him.
He performed weddings and commitment
ceremonies, presiding over countless celebrations.
Each holiday season he would collect scores of stuffed
animals on
the deck of Lao Tzu and decorate the rigging with lights. When children stopped to
marvel at the
animals, he’d invite them to take one, telling each to “go and find the
one
that talks to you.” With
his long white
hair and beard he made a convincing Santa, and many children left
certain
they’d met the genuine article. He
was
the wise man of the harbor, a first-rate listener and a counselor to
many, with
a gift for seeing worth in everyone.
Anywhere he went he became a hub, drawing people together,
as much among
the liveaboards at the harbor as in his habitual morning coffee klatch.
Rod Schoenlank is survived by his sons, Rod Jr. and Fred; grandson James Monroe; and niece Susan Burford. He is predeceased by Gus Schoenlank, his brother, and former wife Polly Schoenlank. He leaves the world richer and more colorful than he found it.
If you would like to be on our list of Rod's friends, have any missing phone numbers (or have your information removed from public web access) please contact me at chris@3space.nl or phone 650-728-1018.
Send
your email address
please.
-Chris-
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