Albert L. Schultz
August 8, 1913–March 20, 2013
Albert L. Schultz felt strongly that if you believe in something, you should support it. And the businessman and philanthropist, who died at 99 on March 20, definitely walked his talk.
Schultz’s philanthropic activity encompassed “just about everything,” says Harvey Freedman, his nephew and president of his foundation. From the Salvation Army — because it helped him when he was a soldier in England during World War II — to education and the arts, human services, and particularly the Jewish community, Schultz was a generous and ongoing backer.
“Al’s vision was very clear,” recalls Phyllis Cook, formerly executive director of the Jewish Community Endowment Fund, where Schultz served as treasurer and in a number of other capacities. “He had great financial wisdom, judgment and insight.” He volunteered his time and, with his late wife, Janet, directed considerable funds to Jewish community centers, Jewish education, including day schools and camping, Israel, and leadership development programs through the JCEF and the San Francisco-based Jewish Community Federation.
Schultz was born in Akron, Ohio, on August 8, 1913, where he lived until moving to the Bay Area in 1979. He was deeply connected to his roots, said Deana Freedman, his niece. Those roots included the Akron Jewish Center where he met the love of his life, Janet Abramson. After a six-year courtship, the two were married in 1935 and continued their love affair for 72 years, until Janet died in 2008. They had two daughters, Phyllis Hatfield, who lives in Seattle, and Miriam Schultz Grunfeld, who died in 1994.
“Al Schultz clearly loved Janet Schultz,” said Carl Grunfeld, who was married to Miriam. “They were a model of how a loving couple walked and talked together.”
The Schultzes took their first trip to Europe in 1955. It was the first of dozens that took them to every continent and most countries where they visited museums and enjoyed theater and concerts, among other activities. He was a music buff, art aficionado and a man who took pleasure in a well-cooked meal. Grunfeld recalls, “He introduced me to my first good restaurant, the Oak Room, in Cleveland’s Terminal Tower.” Schultz’s love for food continued even when his appetite diminished, Grunfeld notes, describing a visit just before his father-in-law’s 99th birthday. “I showed up with a hot corned beef sandwich with mustard on rye that he had asked for, and he wolfed it down.”
Schultz also loved having a beer and a schmooze, said Harvey Freedman. “We had our l’chaim times when we drank IPA (India Pale Ale) together. He was well read and well traveled, and had a very dry sense of humor, but on the whole was a serious man. He was very, very intelligent, especially in the realm of economics and business,” he adds.
It was his business acumen that led to Schultz’s financial success. “He was a self-made man who was in the right place at the right time, and had the brains and the drive to succeed,” says Deana Freedman. A Certified Public Accountant — Schultz was proud that he was among the first to be certified in Ohio — he set up his own CPA practice in the mid-1930s. Returning to Akron after World War II, he joined Olson Radio Warehouse, where he served as controller until the company — then Olson Electronics — was sold to Teledyne in 1968, and Schultz became a wealthy man. He began to use the money he had made to support those things the couple felt were important.
The JCEF’s Phyllis Cook remembers meeting Schultz shortly after the couple moved to the Bay Area and settled in Menlo Park. “He wanted to be involved from the beginning. He was very focused on Jewish continuity,” she said.
From that initial meeting, the JCC in Palo Alto was to become the Albert L. Schultz JCC, the result of a $500,000 gift. Schultz agreed to the naming only because “he understood that he would be a model for other potential donors,” Grunfeld explained. “He wanted a low profile. It wasn’t about the glory; it was about helping people.”
Over the years, the Schultzes supported numerous programs in the Jewish community, including the JCEF’s Janet A. Schultz Gift of Israel Scholarship Fund and the Wexner Heritage Foundation leadership training program. They established the Miriam Schultz Grunfeld Scholarship Fund at Jewish Family and Children’s Services in memory of their daughter, and donated $5 million to the Taube-Koret Campus for Jewish Life in Palo Alto.
Schultz was concerned with the future — with what he’d leave behind but also about giving in his lifetime to build for it, said Phyllis Cook. “He didn’t wait.” When there was a need, Albert Schultz stepped up.
Contributions in Schultz’s memory can be made to these organizations: Miriam Schultz Grunfeld Scholarship Fund, Jewish Family and Children’s Services, 2150 Post St., San Francisco, CA 94115; Hebrew Free Loan, 131 Steuart St., San Francisco, CA 94105; or Salvation Army, 832 Folsom St., San Francisco, CA 94107. There were private family services and burial.
Sinai Memorial Chapel