Obituary: Mary Carolyn Wheeler Schuh
Mary Carolyn Wheeler Schuh, 77, of Tucson, Ariz., known to
most as, “Mary Schuh” a well-known “Watch Dog” on public spending of taxes,
passed away on Aug. 25, 2012. Her death has been a shock to a wide circle of
friends and the community she was active and interested in. Mary C. Wheeler was
born on Aug. 30, 1934, in Newton, the daughter to Dr. James Albert and
Elizabeth Maxson Wheeler. Mary was raised with her brother, James, in the
Newton area, where she became an accomplished horse rider and competitive
expert marksman with the .22 rifle. She graduated from Newton High School in
1952 and attended Kansas State University, “K-State Wildcats.” It was here she
met her husband of 58 years, James D. Schuh, Ph.D., University of Arizona
(retired). Mary left K-State when Jim, after his graduation, was drafted due to
the Korean War and assigned to Ft. Bragg, N.C., where she supported the
military effort and they had their first daughter. Upon completing their
service, they returned to Oklahoma State University, where she completed her
bachelor’s degree while Jim completed his Ph.D. They had their son and the twin
daughters during this time. Mary excelled in “multi-tasking” with four children
under five years of age, college studies and involvement in several clubs. As
alums of OSU, they moved west to Reno, Nev., where Mary started a Brownie and
Girl Scout troop in the rural community where they lived. Mary and Jim later
moved to Tucson in 1964, where they were blessed with a fifth child, another
daughter. They raised five children here. Mary made friends everywhere she
went. She was active in the community early on, assisting in establishing a
Brownie and Girl Scout Troop at LuLu Walker Elementary school. She was a
substitute teacher in both the Tucson Unified and Amphitheater school
districts, teaching at all levels, as well as a PTA president. She became the
president of the Immaculate Heart Women’s Guild, later called St. Odilia’s
Women’s Guild. They were successful in obtaining the funding to build the St.
Odilia’s Church in the north Tucson area. Mary became very active in politics,
eventually managing several Republican candidates’ campaigns, with successful
nominations. Her heart and soul was about voicing the truth in the spending of
local taxpayers’ monies that crossed several diverse areas including school,
county, municipal and fire district spending. With several other individuals,
they founded the Pima Association of Taxpayers, a nonprofit group dedicated to
watching how your hard earned tax monies were spent. Her monthly newsletter was
informative and read by many, including several Arizona Congressmen and state
officials. Mary Schuh, the woman with the facts, was a name known to many in
the community. She spoke at numerous board meetings, using her keen wit and
facts to bring to light the potential or actual misspending of the monies. At
first many of the local boards tried to push back, but over the years the board
members would listen to her words, as they knew she was “right on the money”
99.999 percent of the time. She saved all of us millions in potentially
misspent monies. Mary loved a good book, mystery, word puzzle or well written
story. She enjoyed journalism as she spent time as the editor of the Pima
College paper, where she brought the paper back to life and into a positive
income for the school for the first time since it started. She loved
researching the family genealogy. She would never tell you, but she wrote a
small book on her father’s ancestry that is now in the Marion Library. She was
a certified member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was asked
by the community, and then elected as a board member to serve on the Amphi
School Board. She and fellow board members made numerous positive changes that
corrected the previous poor spending activities and returned a strong school
district budget back to the educators and taxpayers. Mary and Jim had the
opportunity to travel to Greece, Egypt, Israel, Turkey, Italy, Korea and China.
Wherever she went, she made a friend and left with a smile. Upon hearing of her
death, the editor of the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson wrote a personal note on
the editorial page titled, “Mary Schuh, a strong voice for the public has
died”… ending it with, “She will be sorely missed.” Other journalists wrote
several articles about her and what she accomplished to support the Tucson
community as a whole. Articles on Mary can be found online. The local John C.
Scott radio show that focuses on the political issues in the area had her on as
a regular guest speaker over the past 23 years. He dedicated a portion of his
show on Aug. 27, 2012, as a tribute to her and what she did for the Tucson
area. He summed it up for his listeners that if you didn’t know Mary Schuh, you
truly missed an opportunity to know a great lady and her voice to serve the
community in saving taxpayers’ monies. “A remarkable woman we will all miss.” Our
mother embraced opportunities as a concerned citizen, but she was first a
loving wife and a mother who would be at the game or scouting event to cheer us
and our friends on, give a ride, send a card or call to see how you were
feeling. Her devotion to the community was deep and should not be forgotten. If
our mother was here today, she would advise us to be involved, be informed,
know your facts, know what and who you are voting for and vote. The Lord called
Mary C. Wheeler Schuh home to his kingdom and to her next journey. She will be
running the show in heaven soon, “Excuse me God, I have a question on the angel
wing tax...”Mary C. Schuh was preceded in death by her parents and brother. She
is survived by her husband, James and their five children, Laura (Terry)
Peters, Michael (Marty) Schuh, Mary (Gary) Schuh-Williams, Martha Schuh and
Louisa Schuh; and four grandchildren, Lori (Brian) Coulston, Lucy Schuh,
Michael Schuh Jr. and Dayton Reed Schuh. We love you mom, the Schuh family. The
family is planning a celebration of life on Sept. 22, 2012, for Mary in Tucson,
Ariz. Her final resting place will be in Marion in mid to late October. The
details are still being handled by the family. For information on either event,
family, friends and colleagues can call Michael Schuh at (520) 742-6210 or
email him (best) at shoe48@comcast.net. In lieu of flowers, Mary requested
donations to the Marion City Library, 101 Library St., Marion, KS 66861 or to
the Marion Historical Museum, 625 E. Main St., Marion, KS 66861.
