George R. Schaumann, Sr.

George R. Schaumann, 86, of Norwalk passed away peacefully on December 8, 2018, in Norwalk.

Born on September 17, 1932, in Milford, CT, he was the son of George and Hazel Schaumann. For 61 years he was the loving husband of Diane Deliniks Schaumann. He is also survived by his brother William McGraw of Henniker, NH; children George R. Schaumann Jr. (Joann) of Palatine, IL; Kate Schaumann Gaffney (Paul) of Sewickley, PA, and Cataumet, MA, and Thomas W. Schaumann (Christine Begley) of Norwalk; and grandchildren Julia Schaumann, Leah Gaffney, Ian Gaffney, Emma Schaumann, Alice Schaumann, and Owen Schaumann.

He retired after a long actuarial career with Computer Programming and Systems, Inc., of Stamford. He attempted to instill his love of math and statistics in his children, with 66.667% success.

He was an ardent supporter of life’s underdogs, particularly in sports. He was a childhood fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers, whom he never forgave for moving to California until the New York Mets came along. He joined in the jogging craze in the early seventies, and after completing qualifying marathons he achieved the ultimate goal of running in Boston. As the story goes, that race ended prematurely in the back of the meat wagon, which was tended to in part by sympathetic Wellesley coeds, so it wasn’t all bad. In his later years he became an enthusiastic supporter of the UConn Huskies women’s and men’s basketball teams, perhaps in recognition that occasional winning could be just as character-building as frequent defeat.

His lifelong appreciation of music led him to learn and play piano, bass (with the Fairfield Counts community band), and accordion (mostly with relatives at family picnics) and participate in a variety of singing groups (baritone, more or less).  With the 1970s resurgence of ragtime, he set out to master Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer” on piano and practiced it daily, to the point where everyone else in the house had memorized it too.

Throughout life, he cheered on his children’s sporting and musical exploits and supplemented his family time with tennis and paddle tennis, travel, and a variety of volunteering duties.  He coached and befriended new English speakers arriving to the Norwalk area, delivered mail and companionship to convalescing seniors, and was a frequent Red Cross blood donor, among other civic pursuits.  He rarely missed an opportunity to enjoy ice cream.

He was preceded in death by his beloved yet decrepit 1936 Oldsmobile convertible coupe, which was sold off by his mother in the early 1950s for $15 while he was away at U.S. Army basic training in Ft. Dix, NJ, because she was sure that car was going to get him killed. This maternal betrayal made his homecoming from the service even more bittersweet, as he still bore a scar from a flesh wound sustained on the training field after falling on his bayonet during battle exercises. It might be said that both experiences, along with an already skewed view of the world, imbued a sense of humor that was present in almost everything he said or wrote for the rest of his life.

His favorite books included the World Atlas and any kind of almanac.  He will be remembered for his quiet strength, patient encouragement, desire to continue learning new things every day, and deadpan irreverence.

In his last years he suffered the scourge of dementia, and while this robbed his family and friends of many aspects of his personality, we will always remember and appreciate the kind, intelligent man he was and the guiding example he set.

A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, February 16, 2019 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm at Hoyt-Cognetta/Lesko Funeral Home, 5 East Wall St., In Historic Norwalk, CT

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Alzheimer’s Association, at www.alz.org .