John Edward Schuster

John E. Schuster, of Sylvania, Ohio, passed away peacefully at his home on Tuesday, September 5, 2023.

On October 2, 1926, his parents, Paul, and Cecilia (White) Schuster, welcomed their son into the world in the front room of their home in Sylvania, at the corner of Main and Monroe Streets, next to the Fire Station.

After graduating from Burnham High School, John served in the US Army during WWII. He was a proud member of the VFW, Post 3717. It was his honor to serve for many years as a Flag Bearer in the Sylvania Memorial Day Parade’s Color Guard.

On October 22, 1949, John married the love of his life, Patricia Feltis. John and his Patsy would have celebrated their 74th wedding anniversary this year. They loved to entertain friends, play cards, and host family events in a house filled with love and laughter.

Early in their marriage, they moved to their forever home in Sylvania, a mile from where John was born. Together they raised three sons, John (Jackie), Gary, and Tom. John retired from the Engineering Department at the Toledo Edison, after 43 years of dedicated work.

John was the kind of man who never met a stranger and would strike up a conversation with a new “friend” everywhere he went. He always had a perfect story or joke and loved to share them! He was also the one to call when you needed a favor, or if anything needed to be fixed. He loved to keep things on hand which might be “just the thing” he needed for a repair, and usually, in one of those cupboards, jars, or old cigar boxes, he’d find it.

Making sure his family had what they needed was John’s life-long motivation and his true success story. He was proud, stubborn, and determined, with a fierce loyalty to family and friends. He might try to hide behind a gruff demeanor, but the grandchildren saw right through it, knowing their Papa, or Grandpa, would do anything for them, with them, or to teach them. Food was one of John’s favorite “love languages” and after his retirement, he’d join Pat in the kitchen to help whip up a delicious meal for the family Sunday night dinners, or to make the kids one of his special milkshakes in the evening or eggs and bacon in the morning.

John was “good people,” honest, straight-forward, generous, and true. His legacy continues through his sons, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, some of whom will only know him through stories told around the dinner table, but they will know him. His paternal love and guidance shaped John, Gary, and Tom, into outstanding individuals who embody his unwavering commitment to family, hard work, and integrity. 

John is survived by his loving wife, sons, grandchildren, Thomas, Jeffrey, Amanda, Shelby, Matthew, Heather, Michael, Courtney, and Billy and great-grandchildren Chase, Maddy, Mackenzie, and Atlas. He was preceded in death by his parents and siblings, Richard, Warren, JoAnn, Robert, and Ellen Jean.

He will be missed greatly but there’s no doubt that he’s in Heaven, getting the house and a warm meal ready for the loved ones who greeted him there and those who will see him there again someday. Rest easy John, Dad, Papa, Grandpa, and we’ll see you when we get there. We love you.

Friends may visit on Sunday, September 10, 2023, at Reeb Funeral Home, 5712 Main St., Sylvania, Ohio, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m., or Monday, September 11th, from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m., at Olivet Lutheran Church, 5840 Monroe Street, Sylvania followed by a Funeral Service at 10:00. Burial, with military honors, with be at Ravine Cemetery, 6511 Ravine Dr., Sylvania.  The family suggests tributes to the Wounded Warrior Project or The Toledo Humane Society. Online condolences to reebfuneralhome.com

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