Peter William Schantz, 83, passed away peacefully at his home on April 26th, 2021. Peter was blessed with a loving, devoted family. He was the husband of Sarah W. Schantz. They shared 53 years of marriage together. He is survived by his wife, Sarah; his brother, Alan and wife Vickie Schantz; his sons, Douglas Schantz and Timothy and wife Mara Schantz and his grandsons, Nicholas Schantz and JohnHenry Schantz.
Born in Rome, NY, on December 19th, 1937 he was the son of Irving Charles Schantz and Mary Cordes Schantz. He attended Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA. and served honorably in the United States Navy. Peter was a man of many talents and interests. He possessed a strong work ethic, practical wisdom and love for life. An avid reader with an intellectually curious mind, he was capable of becoming an expert in any subject in which he became interested, a trait he instilled in his grandson Nick. He had a passion for music that lives on in his grandson JohnHenry, and was a self-taught guitar player. He enjoyed a love for photography which built common ground and a bond with his daughter-in-law. He loved his pets, always surrounded by loving dogs and cats throughout his life, including his biggest “dog”, Bill the horse. He enjoyed many varied careers during his life, ranging from sales to financial services, but his real passion and natural vocation was doing something that involved working with his hands. As such, he worked to become a talented custom carpenter, a calling that culminated in his building the family homestead in Emporia Kansas, a twenty acre bucolic retreat where his family loved to gather and enjoy the fruit of his labor.
He was an avid outdoorsman, with a love of and respect for nature, and he earned recognition as a certified Orvis fly-fishing guide. Besides spending time with his family, he was the happiest standing in cold, clean, river water, his line singing over his head and expertly presenting to feeding trout. He would catch many and dutifully release the same so they would be able to be enjoyed by future anglers. He was a founding member of the Denver Colorado chapter of Trout Unlimited, a conservation group dedicated to the protecting, reconnecting, restoring and sustaining the country’s cold-water resources.
Peter’s life brought lessons to his family about the vagaries of life, when he suffered a debilitating stroke in his mid 50s. Lessons included learning of life’s unpleasant surprises and unpredictability, the power of grit and resolve to live to be a part of your grandsons’ lives, and the example of love and commitment from one’s spouse, living the marriage vows, as loving life-prolonging care was provided for nearly 30 years. He was a good friend, a dutiful son, a loving brother and an exemplary father and grandfather. And he was a straight shooter. In today’s world one of his favorite sayings, to wit, “there you go again, practicing always being certain, and rarely right” seems particularly apropos and worthy of general consideration.
His family grieves his loss and takes comfort in the knowledge that he is someplace cool, standing thigh deep in strong running icy water reeling off perfect cast after perfect cast, with a size 18 Blue Wing Olive being delivered delicately to just the right spot. And we all know what happens next.
Tight lines through eternity Dad, we love you.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in his name to Trout Unlimited, the details for which are as follows: Trout Unlimited, West Coast Director of Development, 1777 N. Kent St., Suite 100, Arlington, VA 22209; (530) 388-8261; www.tu.org/donate; troutlegacy.org/
Please visit hansenmortuary.com for online condolences.
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