John Schor, Jr.

Remembering a Beloved Brother and Friend

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Henry John Schor Jr., a cherished brother, and friend to many people from around the world. Born at home in Towson, Maryland on January 12, 1944, to a father from the Republic of Czechoslovakia and a mother from Luxembourg who immigrated to the United States in the early 1900’s.

In 1952, the Schor family moved to a farm in Mount Airy, Maryland. This is where John First began to show his mechanical and creative capabilities. The 250-acre farm grew mostly field crops, such as corn and wheat. John’s father worked in a Steel Mill too far from the farm to allow him to live there full time, so John and his brother Fred ended up running the farm. They each had their own tractors. John was too small for his feet to reach the pedals while sitting in the seat, so he operated the tractor while standing up. At about the age of nine, John demonstrated his mechanical ability by rebuilding the engine on one of the tractors. He not only learned the joys of rural living, and working with close-knit family, but how to take on responsibility. The farmhouse where he grew up had no running water or heat, other than the wood burning stove in the kitchen and a fireplace in the living room. Everyone had their own tasks to accomplish, be it slopping the hogs, cutting firewood or churning butter. John did his share and more. Here he developed a love for nature and a deep appreciation for hard work and family values. While living here John also learned the harshness of life when the family lost the farm to foreclosure and moved to another location, once again a house with no running water or heat.

After living in this new house for about a year the family moved to Miami. Again, John’s father did not move with them but stayed in Maryland with his job in the steel mill. The family was poor but lucky enough to purchase a small, new house. Here John continued to contribute to the family by becoming a “paper boy” with the proceeds used to support the family. He also continued to demonstrate his unique mechanical and creative skills. While still in high school, he took junked cars and made one of first ever dune buggies by removing the bodies, cutting the frames and welding them together into what became an awesome dune buggy. This required not only adjusting the frame, but also the complete drivetrain. During this same time he also developed a precursor to the jet ski. It was a small platform with a 10 hp outboard engine that you stood on and guided my leaning from one side to the other to turn it. Many hours were spent on these platforms racing around the many sand pits located in south Florida.

After graduating from high school John moved back to Maryland where he continued to demonstrate his abilities and uniqueness through his many accomplishments. He became a journeyman pattern maker, a very difficult 6-year program, the equivalent of earning a master's degree. He worked for a company called Hydrodynamics that ran a high-speed water tunnel where they did work for the Department of Navy. This was a very unique facility, one of the few in the world and the only one in this country where he developed skills which allowed him to design boat hulls and propellers. Outside of his work skills he also had many other accomplishments, for example he was the Maryland State weightlifter champion for several years in both the bench press and clean and jerk for his weight class.

From Maryland he moved to San Diego CA where he managed a furniture manufacturing company for several years. Here he developed the skills for furniture manufacturing and design, which he later used to develop his own company, Coastal Design Manufacturing Inc. His work here was extremely well known. He had 12 showrooms in large cities like Miami and Chicago. He made furniture for such famous people as Barbra Streisand, Rod Stewart, Mike Huckabee, and MLB pitcher Kevin Foster. He made chandeliers, some very large ones are in many of the casinos in Las Vegas. His work and furniture were featured in many journals that cover furniture, art and design, such as Architectural Digest.

In the 1990’s he moved to China where he worked for a company with a unique soil stabilization enzyme used in construction of roads, dams and canals. Over the years he traveled to many countries to demonstrate this unique product. While in China he opened a pizza restaurant which later expanded into a large chain. However, the most important thing that happened during his time in China is that he met his love for life Chen Jie, (Jade).

John has always loved the water and was an avid fisherman. One of his largest fish he caught was a blue Marlin that weighed over 700 pounds. He also lived on one of the many boats he has owned. For many years he lived Paramour which is currently behind his house in Vila Venyce. It was only a year ago that weakness from ALS forced him to move back into the house.

John's kindness, gentle spirit, and unwavering dedication to those he loved left a lasting impression on everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. He was known for, his generous heart, and his cooking ability. He loved to be around people and was always entertaining and making people happy.

He will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and all who were touched by his warmth and compassion. As we mourn his loss, we also celebrate the remarkable life he lived and the legacy he leaves behind. John is survived by his brother Fred with his wife India, Sisters Jeannette with her husband Charles, and Kathy, his son Paul with his wife Becky, two grandchildren and numerous younger relatives, Jade with her fiancé Brian and many more friends, business partners and associates.

May he rest in peace. He will forever be remembered and dearly missed by his family and many friends.