FREDERICK MAX SCHUETTE
1924-2017
Frederick Max Schuette passed away on February 21, 2017, reuniting with his wife Elizabeth Anne O’Hare Schuette who slipped away just six months earlier, after more than 70 years of marriage and almost 80 years of courtship.
Max was born April 28, 1924 in Joplin, Missouri to Frederick Herman Christian Schuette and Lola Marie Caywood Schuette. He and his older sisters Dorothy Louise and June LeClair moved with the family between Missouri and Kansas before settling in Des Moines, Iowa where he attended junior high and high school. Max and Liz met in junior high and remained close even while attending different high schools.
Max entered The University of Chicago in 1942 and enlisted in the Army’s Aviation Cadet program. He was called into active duty and piloted a B-24 Liberator heavy bomber. Max flew 25 combat missions out of Manduria, Italy in 1944 and 1945, leaving that campaign as squadron leader. He frequently conversed with and about his flight crew, always commenting on their professionalism, courage, and sacrifice.
Returning stateside, he married Liz on September 2, 1945. With help from Liz and from The GI Bill, Max returned to The University of Chicago. He graduated with honors from The College in 1947 and graduated from the Law School in 1950, where he served on The Law Review.
After graduation, Max and Liz moved to Houston where he entered the commercial banking business. During his successful 39-year career, he held executive positions at National Bank of Commerce, Southern National Bank, where he served as CEO, and American General Investment Corporation, where he served as President.
All this time, Max and Liz were growing a family. The twins came first: David Max and Anne Elizabeth. Eleven years later, the baby came: John Frederick. Memories of family road trips, get-togethers with family and friends, hunting and fishing, high school football and marching band, art projects, and card games with family and friends were always a source of good stories.
Max was a Christian servant. While in Houston, Max and Liz were active members of Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church and served in many lay leadership positions there. Max recently wrote this as part of his belief statement: “I believe that through all seasons we are called, in faith, to reach beyond the things seen, to seek the things not seen, to love God and our neighbor, and, in fellowship with Christ, to ‘do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God’: to make better the things that are.”
Max’s belief was well-lived. He has a lifelong record of civic service, but his retirement really offered him the opportunity to give freely of his talents for organization, planning, and strategy. Max was a Lifetime Director of The YMCA of the Greater Houston Area and the 1994 recipient of the David Allen Memorial Award for Outstanding Lifetime Service to the YMCA. He was Chairman and then Chairman Emeritus of the Buffalo Bayou Partnership, where he participated in the development of the Long Range Master Plan for the Bayou from Shepherd Drive to the Port. In 1990, he was founding President of the Board and later became Lifetime Director of CanCare of Houston, a volunteer service for cancer survivors and their families. Max did strive to “make better the things that are.”
Max was preceded in death by his wife of almost 71 years: Elizabeth Anne O’Hare Schuette. He is survived by his and Liz’s children: David Max Schuette with wife Carolena May Houze Schuette, Anne Elizabeth Schuette, and John Frederick Schuette with wife Dawn Valerie Shisler Schuette; his six grandchildren: Elizabeth Nanette Harwell, Catherine Madeleine Herring Shoup with husband Bradley Michael Shoup, Carolena Caywood Schuette McClelland with husband Albert Kirk “Sonny” McClelland, David Max Schuette, Jr., Allison Marie Schuette, and Jonathan Matthew Schuette; and his great-grandchild: Henry Jubilation Herring Shoup.
There will be a memorial service for Max at 11:00 AM on Monday May 22 in the Chapel at Franklin Park Sonterra, 18323 Sonterra Place, San Antonio, TX 78258. This service will be followed at 1:00 PM by a full military graveside ceremony at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests gifts be made to your choice of The YMCA of Greater Houston, The Buffalo Bayou Partnership, or CanCare of Houston.