In Memoriam: Robert Schuneman

Bob Schuneman, ane of several dozen men together with women inwards together with around the suburbs of Boston who cause got been playing soccer together for many years, but passed away after a long bout amongst cancer.  As our colleague Margot noted recently,  "Our soccer relationships are interesting.  We pass a lot of fourth dimension together.  We actually relish each other's company.  We cause got a ton of fun together.  Yet nosotros know really footling nigh each other."

So for our grouping together with for others, allow me nation y'all a fleck nigh Bob. I fortunately had a jeopardy to take in amongst him but a few days ago, together with I've flora these end-of-life conversations to last remarkable inwards the grade of honesty that occurs.  I asked, "How are y'all thinking nigh things?"  He said, "I've had an unbelievable 81 years.  Sometimes I can't believe that I've deserved such a skillful life."  And thence I got his personal history, together with learned a ton of things I hadn't known.

For ane thing, he was a really accomplished participant together with music publisher--not something y'all would always cause got suspected every bit he deftly slipped inwards left-footed shots if y'all mistakenly permitted him to last undefended inwards forepart of the goal! This article from 2012 gives some details. An excerpt:

After a career which included working amongst narcotics addicts inwards Brooklyn; beingness a church building participant inwards Fort Wayne, IN, Glens Falls, NY, Chicago together with Boston, MA; choral together with orchestral conductor inwards Cambridge, MA; together with instruction at Oberlin Conservatory, Boston Conservatory of Music, New England Conservatory of Music, together with Westminster Choir College, Schuneman gave upwardly all except choral conducting to purchase the fellowship that he worked for part-time every bit editor, E.C. Schirmer Music Company. Since 1985, together with reverse to pop opinion, he has non gotten rich every bit President together with main possessor of ECS Publishing Company, the parent fellowship of E.C. Schirmer Music Co., Milky Way Music Corporation, Ione Press, together with Highgate Press. Committed to the composers of novel fine art music, he has also mastered together with produced over 200 recordings on ARSIS together with other labels, together with he continues every bit the conductor of Philovox Ensemble of Boston.

The article notes that Bob grew upwardly inwards Pittsburgh.  He expanded on this fact amongst me, noting that when he grew upwardly inwards Pittsburgh, it was nevertheless an immensely polluted city.  He related a brilliant childhood memory: From a loma overlooking town, y'all could come across the glow from the steel nail furnaces. The air was thence choked amongst pollution that cars needed to cause got headlights on during the day.

Bob's married adult woman Cynthia was raised on her parent's wheat farm inwards Scobey, Montana, where they had been homesteaders.  Also trained every bit a musician, she subsequently worked amongst him at the music publishing company. When Cynthia died in 2012 (also of cancer), they spread her ashes on the farm, together with at that topographic point is a marking for her nigh her parents' gravestones. Bob told me nigh this every bit he related that he decided a few weeks agone that he wanted the same to last done amongst his.  

Bob's concluding game amongst us, he reminded me, was July 1.  When I asked if he had whatever messages for our soccer group, his immediate reply was, "Play on!"  Then, "I missy you."  We volition play on, Bob, but at that topographic point volition last a hole inwards our hearts, every bit nosotros missy you, too.

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