Norman Shelton, né Horst Schlochauer

Sep. 8, 1927 - Aug. 6, 2023

An amazing man you were Dad, enduring so much even in early life and persevering through many obstacles in your early adulthood, you overcame as a result of the love and support you received from your wonderful parents, Karl and Lissi Schlochauer, Née Eichhoff. The way they raised you gave you the work ethic that was exemplified by your devotion and hard work while supporting your parents later in life, and then Rita Podbielski, whom you made your bride.You provided your family with such great comfort you did not know when living in the Hongkew ghetto in Shanghai after you and your parents fled Germany during the holocaust, lucky to get your father out of a concentration camp.

You were so fortunate to have had a great education in Shanghai in the British Kadoorie School and you learned English so well that you spoke better and had a great vocabulary compared to many Americans including your son! I love looking at the photographs of your athletic achievements in amateur boxing, never having lost and only had a couple of draws in more than a dozen matches. You also demonstrated your great abilities in shot-put and high jump.

After you and your parents left Shanghai you went to Israel where you lived in a sheet metal structure and had to cook over an open fire that your mom made nightly and suffered emphysema at an early age from inhaling so much smoke. As a young man you traveled to the United States after getting Uncle Max and Aunt Olga, in L.A. to support you and gain a visa. You worked tirelessly getting any job no matter how physical the labor was and developed respect from your bosses. You became an apprentice in the tool and dye and sheet metal trades working long hours and even getting injured on the job but disability was not for you. You persevered to save enough money to bring your parents to the USA. During that time you lived in Washington Heights, NYC. Your landlady told you, “Oh you must meet Rita, she’s so pretty.” She told Rita, who lived in the same apartment building, “Oh you must meet Norman, he’s so neat, he folds his socks!” If it weren’t for Omi Anna, you wouldn’t have married Mom and I wouldn’t be writing this years later.

You and Mom were blessed with having your darling sunshine, Susie and then I was born three years later.

You continued to work hard and create your future. Your multiple jobs, including selling door-to-door as a Fuller Brush man allowed you to attend school at night and you got a job at Allis-Chalmers, a manufacturer of machinery for different industries and that lead to you getting employed by Harcourt Brace publishers ( later becoming Harcourt Brace & World and then Harcourt Brace Jovanovich). During your career there you created and developed the factory operation at the Science Materials’ Center which produced the laboratory supplies to accompany the science textbooks for many different levels used by many states’ school divisions. No wonder I developed a passion for working with tools, construction and I was a science nerd often playing/working in our basement science lab at home.

Life didn’t become easier for you especially when Susie who just turned only 12 years old passed away without warning. Somehow you kept it together, or at least when on stage when I was in your audience, and you were strong for Mom who had a most difficult time, understandably, coping with the loss of her daughter. Not too long after, you realized that a move was needed to start anew.

You were able to buy a home in the Queens and we lived very comfortably, even having a lawn that I helped you mow with a push mower and edged with hand sheers. I had an excellent education in a public school that turned my young life around scholastically. You and Mom sacrificed much to save for the family and despite that you enabled our family to vacation almost every year and taught me to ski. Life for me could have been so difficult if I had been raised in a dysfunctional family with parents who lost a child and a Mom who, in addition, had lost her entire family back in Germany slaughtered by Hitler after she fled via the Kinder Transport to Israel. I was so fortunate to have two parents who somehow (I’m not sure if I could have done as good a job as you if I had been in your position) , managed to develop the strength to continue parenting, showing me love and supporting me in every endeavor.

When your job moved to Florida, Beth, Rachel, Jake and I loved visiting you and Mom (Opi and Omi) going to Disney and Seaworld. As the years passed, the distance seemed longer and as Mom’s health deteriorated, you agreed, despite not wanting to leave the warm weather, and returned to New York so both of you would be closer and I could help you both with your health issues as they worsened. Furthermore it gave us opportunities to spend much more quality time together and the six of us celebrated many more milestones.

We are all happy for you that you are at peace and not having to endure daily pain. You were so mentally sharp at almost 96; I could only hope to be similar to you when I reach 75.

We love you and wish you tranquility, peace and comfort. Please give Mom/Omi and Susie lots of hugs from us.

Love always,

Ron, Beth, Rachel and Jake

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