Ninety remarkable years for Vernon

Mr Vernon Schultz has achieved remarkable things in his nine decades.

But the most notable is the love and respect that shows on the faces of his wife and daughter when they look at him and the admiration with which friends speak of him.

A resident of Rand Aid’s Inyoni Creek, Vernon’s 90th birthday was toasted by loved ones on March 4 and, according to his wife Constance, her husband’s life is certainly one worth celebrating.

“He is a gifted and creative man who always put his ideas and inspiration into action,” she said.

Testament to this is dotted around their lovely Lyndhust home, with the walls lined with paintings done by Vernon. Most of the gleaming furniture was lovingly crafted by him.

Vernon only started painting in his mid-70s and today his paintings can be found in many homes in South Africa and abroad, while his furniture is the stuff heirlooms are made of.

A self-made man, Vernon was 15 when WWII broke out.

With his German surname, his dad was discharged from his job and Vernon had to leave school and find work.

“I never had the privilege of going to university,” he added.

He found employment at the mines, working first above ground and then underground.

He was then also able to complete his matric-equivalent certificate before earning a mining diploma.

After marrying Constance in 1952, Vernon was appalled after chatting to an insurance salesman to learn how much more money than him the man earned.

He promptly left the mines and joined the insurance industry.

Before long he was a manager and he and Constance enjoyed a comfortable life.

After four years of marriage, and with no children yet, Vernon resigned and booked boat tickets that saw him and Constance travelling to distant shores and enjoying a wealth of experiences.

“Seven months later, she fell pregnant and we came home.”

Apart from a six year stint in engineering, Vernon carved a remarkable career for himself in insurance, while working actively in his community alongside Constance, first through Rotary, where was given the highest award that can be bestowed on a Rotarian, a Paul Harris Award and then through Probus, which he helped launch and went on to become president of the Southern African Council.

It was family that was always at the centre of Vernon’s world.

“My wife and I worked together, we slaved together, physically building two houses with Constance bolting roof rafters and painting walls,” he said.

“I was his apprentice,” said Constance, explaining that their first home was in Linbro Park and their second, built in 1964 on a large stand that would host many a family gathering over the next 40 years, was in Bedfordview.

Problem solving has always been a love of Vernon’s.

He remembers adapting a welding machine that he had made to enable it to weld thin material without burning it, through the addition of carbons, which were used in bioscopes in those days. When he went to purchase the carbons for his carbon arc torch, the salesman asked what he needed them for and after explaining, Vernon was asked to bring in his creation.

The result? An order for 50 machines.

Today Vernon is enjoying an active retirement.

A happy resident of Inyoni Creek for seven years, he and Constance say it was the best move they ever made.

“We have the most fantastic friends in the village,” said Constance.