Earl E. Shultz, 86, of St. Joseph, MO passed away on August 14, 2023 at Mosaic Life Care in St. Joseph. Earl was born in Rosendale, MO on March 19, 1937. He grew up in Rosendale and graduated from Rosendale High School in 1955. Earl continued his education at Tarkio College where he played football, basketball, and ran track and obtained his BS in Education in 1959. He later received his Master’s Degree from Northwest Missouri State University.
It was in high school that Earl met the love of his life, Billie Jean Cobb. They were married on August 24, 1956 in Savannah, MO and were inseparable for 61 years until Billie’s passing in February 2018. Earl was also preceded in death by his mother, Mary Etta Lisle, step-father, Ora Lisle, and brother Johnnie. Earl is survived by two sons, Johnny (Sue) Shultz of Platte City, MO and Jim (Cindy) Shultz of Kansas City, MO; three grandchildren, Derek (Mylene Garcia) of Stone Mountain, GA, Jessica Shultz of Kansas City, MO, Ryan (Brooke) Shultz of Savannah, MO; and great-granddaughter, Irena.
Earl taught and coached in Peculiar, MO, Stewartsville, MO, and North Platte High School in Dearborn, MO. When he retired from teaching in 1995 the late Al Seifert, published an article about Earl in the St. Joseph News Press. Earl was so touched by the article that he said he wanted it included in his obituary when the time came.
Coach Shultz Set Example for Students – by Al Seifert as published in the St. Joseph News Press, June 2, 1995
“One of the men who intrigued me most is about to retire without a word. He’s been away from coaching for a while. Now he’s stepping away from education entirely. Earl Shultz first came to my attention as the basketball coach at Stewartsville. He wasn’t just the basketball coach. He coached boys. He coached girls. He coached six-man football. He coached track. He taught physical education. He taught social studies. He drove the bus for road trips and swept out the gym.
If Mr. Peepers had a role model it was Earl Shultz. He would walk to his bench just before game time, a Cardinal Red towel thrown over his shoulder. No one – except his players – heard a word from him until his Cardinals had chalked up another win. They did that with regularity.
I didn’t know it at the time, but Shultz’s background was the biggest factor in his demeanor. He was a starter with the Rosendale men’s fast pitch softball team at the age of 12. He listened, didn’t say much and ran down fly balls like greyhounds run down rabbits.
Softball was his favorite sport, and he might have coached the game at the high school level if he’d had the opportunity. As it was, he played well into six decades with some of the best teams in this area – Breit-Hawkins, Fillmore, Amazonia, and others.
At Stewartsville, his second coaching job, he produced an undefeated team in girls’ basketball (there was no girls state tournament at that time) and an undefeated six-man football squad. Five years later he moved down the road to Dearborn and immediately worked his magic there. He was still coaching football, boys’ and girls’ basketball and dabbling with track when he started the North Platte baseball program in 1973. He finally became an administrator, but not before he won league basketball titles in 1967, ’68, and ’69.
He was always a player’s coach. At a retirement reception recently, one of his former players, Barbara Farris, now teaching at North Platte Middle School, summed it up.
“I enjoyed playing basketball for you so much that I modeled my whole teaching style after you,” she said. “Be kind, be fair, always give the student the benefit of the doubt. Thank you for always setting the example.”
It was Earl’s request that he be cremated. Private interment will be held at a later date at the Savannah Cemetery in Savannah, MO.
