Paul Schons, a St. Thomas graduate and German professor for nearly 45 years, died Sunday night.
Schons, 72, was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic melanoma this summer and had received home hospice care. Terry Langan, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said in an email to the faculty that Schons was important to the students in the St. Thomas German program.
“I came to know Paul as a staunch advocate for the German program, which he loved,” Langan wrote. “In that role he served his department and his students very well. They, especially, have sustained a great loss tonight.”
Langan saw Schons frequently in the elevator and noted Shons was always friendly.
“I don’t think he was ever without a smile and a ‘Greetings!’ when we met there, nor did he ever fail to initiate an exchange of pleasantries as he rode to the third floor and I to the fourth,” Langan wrote. “Thanks to Paul, I always had a smile on my face as I rode that last bit alone.”
Sophomore Jake Powell had Schons as a teacher for two German classes.
“(He was) definitely the nicest professor I have ever had,” Powell said. “He never said anything negative. Everybody loved him.”
Senior Megan Rhein knew Schons for three years as a professor and adviser and said she was devastated to hear about his death.
“He was a mentor, a friend, so much more than just a professor and being able to personally feel that impact that he had at St. Thomas, it really hits hard,” Rhein said.
Rhein said the German club organized a special gift for him as he got really sick.
“We came up with this idea to put together a binder for him,” Rhein said. “We got ahold of alumni who were either in the German program or had been in German club as well as current students who we knew were involved, and we asked them just to send a little note.”
Senior Bobby Ranallo said Schons was always a pleasant person to talk to.
“Dr. Schons was probably one of the happiest people I ever saw at St. Thomas.” Ranollo said. “He was always available to talk about whatever it was.”
Schons graduated from St. Thomas in 1962 and returned to teach in 1967; at 45 years of service, he was the senior member of the College of Arts and Sciences faculty.
Schons received his master’s degree from the University of Colorado and his doctorate from the University of Minnesota.
Schons founded the St. Thomas German study-abroad program in 1972 and was director until 1983.
For 40 years, Schons and his wife, Nancy, lived “20 feet off campus on Cleveland Avenue,” according to St. Thomas Magazine. Schons is survived by three children and three grandchildren.
Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Oct. 28 at O’Hallorhan and Murphy Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Oct. 29 at the Church of St. Mark with visitation one hour before.
Paul Schons Family Scholarship for German has been established in Schons’ memory.
Stephanie Dodd contributed to this report.
Heidi Enninga can be reached enni5264@stthomas.edu.
Auf wiedersehen Cousin Paul, Sehe Sie Im Himmel.
Paul was such a kind person, an excellent mentor and example to a large number of us German teachers, who were privileged to work with him on various projects throughout the years. His legacy will endure!
Dr. Shons was such a great professor. I was lucky enough to have known him. He will certainly be missed by many.
Professor Paul Schons had been my “boss” at the time when I had started to work as the German Tutor at St. Thomas in 2008 and he became a good friend very quickly.
I found out about his death comparatively late and when I did the fact saddened me for a long time that I could not see him again in person. He was an extraordinary, caring and lovely human being and he understood the German soul like no one I had met before. Most importantly, I learned from him that a person’s political view or economic success does not have to matter even in the USA as long as this person as a human tries to improve the lives of other people on earth. In this sense, Herr Schons became a role-model for me as an English teacher in Germany. Now, I can only try to become as good a teacher as he was by continuing where he left off.
Per aspera ad astra: Danke für den Brückenbau zwischen den Welten über den Großen Teich. Machen Sie‘s gut!