Lillian Schultz

Lillian was born on Jan. 27, 1938, in Menominee, to Rudolph and Lillian Wencl of Hermansville. Lil married Arthur John Schultz on Aug. 1, 1956, in Gary, Ind. He was her partner and love of her life. The couple made their home in Deep River, Ind., until they purchased a 230-acre dairy farm in Powers. Later purchasing the Johnson and Charles’ farms, they farmed over 600 acres with 200 head of livestock.

Lil led an extraordinary and accomplished life. She was a wonderful mother, grandmother, dedicated community servant, a phenomenal cook, and a successful businesswoman with a get-r-done attitude. Lil was generous with her time, had a passion for gardening and canning and loved feeding people.

Lil graduated from Merrillville High School in Merrillville, Ind., in 1956 and worked for the University of Illinois in Chicago in medical records and the purchasing departments from 1954 to 1957. Art and Lil purchased the Little Bar in Powers in 1971, running the establishment through 1977 with daily specials and Saturday night spaghetti dinners. Lil obtained her real estate license in 1977 from the University of Michigan and managed her own rental properties through 2022.

She also went to work for the Eaton Corporation as a temporary payroll clerk from 1978 to 1979. Due to Art’s serious health issues, Lil took on the daily milking of the dairy herd in 1979 until the farm was sold in 1992.

Lil was the Spalding Township supervisor for 16 years from 1984 to 1992 and again from 2004 to 2012. During her tenure, she obtained $1.8 million in grants, with $850,000 for the water and sewer system in the Village of Powers. She sat on the Water Authority Board for the Village of Powers and was instrumental in construction of the pavilion in Veteran’s Park. She also worked to obtain a $200,000 grant for economic development to promote businesses and create jobs for local residents. She personally brought in grants from Hannahville 2% funds for road work in the township. Lil served on the Menominee County Planning Commission from 2007 through 2015 and on the CUPPAD Executive Board of the local MTA Chapter from 2008 through 2012.

At the request of Judges Barstow and Hupy, Lil served on the Justice System Advisory Committee for the Menominee County District and Probate Courts in 1992. She ran her greenhouse horticultural business, selling produce and flowers from her commercial greenhouses from 1993 through 2023. She was the owner/operator of the Scrubboard Coin Laundry in Hermansville, for several years. Lil was a member of Grace Evangelical Church in Powers and ran chili feeds and spaghetti dinners during hunting season for several years to raise money for children’s camps. She was still operating a construction roofing company until the end. Lil was strong, intelligent and resilient; the matriarch and pillar of the family will be greatly missed.

She is survived by daughter, Wendy (Russell) Peters; sons, Steve (Tammy Roberts), John (Claire Oswald) Schultz; 16 grandchildren; 25 great-grandchildren; sister, Sharon Sonaty; and 18 nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by husband, Arthur John Schultz; and son, Hans Schultz.

A graveside service will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 8. A celebration of life will follow from noon to 3 p.m. at the Floriano Stecker Kelly American Legion Post 340 hall, with a luncheon beginning at noon until 1 p.m..

The Allo Coolman Funeral Home is assisting the Schultz family.

Please visit www.allofh.com to send online condolences to her family.