Benjamin (Ben) Gale Schulz, 49, of Hopkins, died unexpectedly Wednesday, Feb. 1.
Whether it was tearing apart a bathroom out of the blue while his wife was gone, to gifting her an epic trip to Africa, Ben was full of surprises. An avid outdoorsman, Ben never met a hunting trip or vacation he didn’t like. And he was prone to random trips to Indiana Amish country to pick up doughnuts.
But as hard as he played, he started working even harder. Besides running his own trucking business, he loved hobby farming on his family’s farm, and he volunteered much of his time coaching basketball for the Hopkins program. His son, Tyler, was player at Hopkins High as was his daughter, Meghan, who was a shot putter in track and a senior on the Michigan State University rowing team.
Son Brady’s compassionate heart is just as big as Ben’s. Trent has his dad’s gift of quiet introspection and subtle, unexpected sense of humor. Jack’s love of helping others is pure Ben, and Jay has Ben’s quiet gift of deep thought.
Surviving are his wife, Sarah for 26 years, his son, Tyler (Kayla), his daughter Meghan, sons, Brady, Trent, Jack, and Jay, grandson, Tanner, and brothers, Jason (Shirley) and Sam (Kayla), and his extended family and friends who became family.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Gordon Schulz and Andrea (Sug) Schulz.
The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Hopkins Community Church. There will be a visitation at the church Sunday from 3 to 7 p.m. and again on Monday at 10 a.m. Interment will be at Poplar Hills Cemetery immediately after the service, and Hopkins Community Church will provide a light luncheon.
In lieu of flowers, those wishing to make a memorial contribution are welcome to donate to Jack and Jay’s SMV education fund, or to Hopkins Community Church’s “5th Quarter” program, or to the Wes Leonard Heart Team in memory of Ben and his love of the game.
