Write a commentIf any one individual could be said to define, by his very persona, the concept of community service, that one person would be Dr. Willard C. Shum.
Will Schum was born in the Buffalo suburb of Cheektowaga, and attended Buffalo State University, where he ultimately obtained a Doctoral degree in Education. A Navy veteran of the Korean War, Will married his college sweetheart , Joan Kilma, and moved to Oswego NY to become the Principal of the then Campus School (Swetman Learning Center). He later retired as an Associate Dean, from State University College at Oswego.
Will was always a very active member of the Rotary club, and continued to be until the time of his demise in September 2013. Through Rotary, Will also became involved in the Partnership for the Americas project, and was instrumental in establishing a relationship between his hometown of Oswego, N.Y. and the tiny Republic of Montserrat, which later was devastated by a massive volcanic eruption in 1997. He spearheaded efforts to provide relief to the volcano victims of that tragedy, and was also active in the American Field Service program for hosting Foreign exchange students for many years.
After his retirement, Will was recruited by me as Mayor to assist in a project of establishing a museum to commemorate the role of Oswego and Fort Ontario in the rescue and housing of 982 refugees from Nazi Germany during World War II. This little known chapter in history is much better known, now that Will has been involved. Indeed, he spearheaded the formation of the museum committee, and today, the Safe Haven Fort Ontario Museum is not only a reality, but planning a major expansion. Will's leadership was essential in the drive to bring about the Safe Haven museum, and his commitment and dedication to the project from the start was unwavering, without Will, this just would not have happened.
Will met his wife Joan at a coffee shop while in college, and two sons and 55 years of marriage later, they were inseparable until his death last fall. Will had heart problems for several years before he died, but it did not deter him from his rounds as a volunteer at the hospital in Venice, Fla, where he and Joan maintained a winter retirement home. He was also active in Rotary up until the day he died.
"Will just loved people", said his wife Joan. " He just would not stop doing things for people, no matter how badly he felt. He was like the Ever ready energizer bunny when it came to helping those in need. He just cared. He cared a lot", she added. Schum"s association with Safe Haven dated from 1988, when he was named to chair a committee to investigate the establishment of a museum, and continued with his involvement on the board until just recently. He particularly enjoyed talking with some of the refugees, and hearing of their experiences first hand. The establishment of the Safe Haven museum was his greatest non-academic achievement. He had many other pluses in his long career in education, and his wife Joan is still answering notes and letters from his former colleagues and students who have written to tell of how Will affected their lives in a positive way.
Current President of Safe Haven, Judy Coe-Rapaport tells me that plans are afoot to establish a special endowment fund at the museum in Will's honor. " He was so proud of what we built here, and of what the people of Oswego did to reach out to these unfortunate, yet fortunate souls during the time of their residency here at Fort Ontario during and after the war", said Rapaport. "Will Schum will live on in the memory of our 982 refugees and their families, and we are forever grateful to this uniquely giving man for all that he did to bring this museum for a dream to reality. He would be very proud of what we are doing now to transform and extend the mission of our museum, to reach even more people to remind them of this story of courage and hope in the face of adversity.", she added.
Well said, Judy! And I might add, where there was a Will, there was a way!
