Memories of John Peter Schlatt

In memory of

John Peter Schlatt

Redding, CA, USA

December 6, 1926 - September 29, 2019

Dec 6, 1926 - Sep 29, 2019

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Adrienne DiLullo

Memorial Service Dec. 6, 2019 . Eulogy delivered by grandson, Nick DiLullo.
John Peter Schlatt was the youngest of 11 children, born in a small coal mining town in Southern Ohio called Crabapple. The only store was the General Store owned by the mining company. In those days, the store kept “tabs” for people who couldn’t pay, and took payments as they could make them. His mom died shortly after childbirth. His early childhood was that of being passed between relatives, and for a while to foster parents. His niece Sandy, who could not be here, said “He certainly was tossed from pillar to post from the time he was born. It is nothing short of a miracle that he ended up as successful as he did. Uncle Jack was a “shining star” in my book and an inspiration as to what you can do with your life when you are born in poverty, in an Appalachian coal mining town, in the Ohio Valley.”

Jack, as he was known, joined the army hoping to be a pilot but failed the eye exam. He ended up a sergeant in occupied Japan at the age of 19….getting anti-US propaganda out of schools. He befriended an elderly Japanese woman who did mending for him. He was able to get food for her. When he visited to say good-bye, she insisted he take a beautiful Kimono as a gift of remembrance.

Upon his return to the states, he went to college on the GI Bill…..the first of 11 children to even finish high school. He married Mary and they had Adrienne while he was still at Kent State. Five more children followed over the next 10 years, Vicki, Kevin, Karen, Brian and Susan. He was very proud of his career accomplishments, and loved to talk about the problems he solved. His first job was driving a coal truck in Ohio and his last job was Vice President of Manufacturing Operations at Seagate in Singapore where he and grandma lived for two years.

What kind of man was he?
Grandpa sometimes worked 2 jobs to support his family. He took “fathering” seriously. He instilled his own sense of duty, responsibility, hard work, self-reliance and resourcefulness in his children. He exposed his family to nature, history and exercise. His sense of adventure was curbed by work and financial limitations, but he instilled in his children the curiosity to explore the world outside of their own neighborhood. He made sure his children were well-behaved, had good manners, knew right from wrong, stood up straight…..and came home with good report cards.

His children remember how he whistled while he worked. He believed in “fixing things” rather than replacing them….and he got pleasure from finding the fix . He played the Harmonica. He loved music and made CDs for everyone. He documented his life by taking pictures….more than his family wanted at times.
He loved boats and had several. He taught his children to swim and water ski during camping trips at the lake. He loved airplanes and regularly attended air shows. He loved cars and was meticulous about their care. He loved to ice skate and made sure his children learned on the used skates he bought at St. Vincent de Paul. He was proud of his work, his yard, his home, his family He could be stubborn, was a strict disciplinarian, principled, and a man of his word,

When the kids were gone, he got to travel with his “girlfriend”, Mary. When he returned to Japan he was interviewed on local radio about the post-war occupation. John was civic minded…he spoke his voice to political leaders & met with congressman. He liked a good argument about issues that we faced in our society. He was an avid reader, more so in his senior years as life became increasingly sedentary.
Finally, He didn’t want to live in a place where everyone was old. Grandpa was stoic. He rarely complained about his problems or pain. He fought hard to keep going and provide companionship to the love of his life for 71 years. At last God said “enough my son, it’s time.” His death was a good one….on his terms.

He said he wished he’d been a teacher. He was, in fact, a teacher for anyone who knew him.

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