Francis Schumm, Jr.

Long-time resident of Wayne Francis Schumm, Jr., age 72, passed away somewhat unexpectedly on Sunday, June 2, 2019. With his outgoing nature and friendly spirit, he brought life to the town of Wayne and touched the lives of many who had the privilege of knowing him during his 60 plus years as a resident.

Born in Valley Stream, NY, Francis moved to Wayne when he was just six years old and remained a resident for the rest of his life. He was a student first at the former Preakness School on Hamburg Turnpike, then Lafayette School, the former Anthony Wayne Junior High School (occupied today by Siena Village) and the former Wayne Senior High School (known today as Wayne Valley High School) where he was a member of the marching band.

After graduating from Wayne Senior High with the Class of 1964, Francis enrolled in Rets Technical School where he studied to be an electronics technician. He soon landed a position with Conrac/Gianini Control Corporation – a subcontractor of the U.S. Department of Defense in Fairfield, working as a circuit board trouble shooter on their Minute Man missile systems. Over the course of his career that spanned more than twenty years, he ascended to the rank of company supervisor.

Francis had a tremendous love for national holidays and the traditions that went along with them. On St. Patrick’s Day, everyone could always count on him dressing up in his green leisure suit and inviting anyone who wanted to join him out for a good old-fashioned Irish dinner. On Halloween, every kid in the neighborhood knew that ringing Francis’ doorbell would yield the absolute best bag of treats of the night, and at Christmas, his house was always festively decorated inside and out and he could be found enthusiastically playing the role of Santa Claus for the Christmas celebrations at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church.

Francis had a true national pride which was clearly evidenced by the countless patriotic memorabilia he loved to collect. His house was filled with Americana, especially anything depicting the American eagle or American flag. Francis enjoyed collecting other types of things too – lots of different items. For example, he loved frequenting the train shows in Edison and Allentown, PA where he could always find pieces to add to his train collection. This could include anything to do with trains including train lanterns, and lanterns in general were another item he loved to collect. He was a collector of bicycles and, at last count, he owned over forty different bikes. If you needed a recording of an old favorite song you grew up hearing on the radio, Francis probably had it on one of those old 78 RPM records. More recently, he was into collecting walking canes and, while he had a real love for the old Chevy Corvairs of the 1960’s, he only ever owned one. With such a love for collecting, it should come as no surprise that everyone could always count on seeing Francis at garage sales all over town, or at the frequent flea markets that would be held at the Rec Building or Wayne PAL.

While all these facets of life brought Francis much joy, they could not be matched by his love for his family and friends, including the many wonderful canine companions – mostly Cocker Spaniels and Schnauzers that he gave a loving home to over many years. When home, Shotzie, Paris and currently Honey were his family. Treating them as such, he had a pooch named Lady who even joined Francis every morning for coffee, preferring to drink hers from a saucer. When he wasn’t home, Francis frequented many of the local Wayne eateries including Wayne Hills Diner, Park Wayne Diner, the Preakness Luncheonette, Charlie Browns, the Barnyard in Totowa, and the Hotdog Hut just under the overpass of Route 23 in the Mountain View section of Wayne. A regular at all these venues, over the years, Francis became like a friend to lots of good people through his many visits. He was equally well known in his neighborhood, taking daily walks with the dogs and stopping along the way to chat with his many neighbors. One neighbor in particular was Angela and Mark Ricciardi and their son Mark and daughter Michelle. They became long-time best friends and considered each other to be family, with Francis being like a second father to Mark and Michelle.

Francis’ faith in God was foundational in his life and as such, he regularly took part in the parish life at Our Lady of the Valley Church and had masses held on the anniversary of his parent’s deaths and birthdays as well as on Christmas. He also attended St. Michael’s Episcopal Church where he liked to bring his dogs for a blessing.

Francis is survived by his dear Aunt Anna Kearsch and dear cousins Robert Fisher, Sharon Quinn, Debbie Thorton, Richard Miesemer, Russell Miesemer, Marilyn Sylvester, and Karen Weingart.

In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy are asked to consider a gift dedicated to the welfare, sheltering and placement of homeless animals through Friends of Wayne Animals (FOWA Rescue), P.O. Box 3701, Wayne, NJ 07474.