William Frederic Schnitzker - 1922-2008
William Frederic Schnitzker, M.D., 85, of Ashland, passed away Feb. 17, 2008, after a long battle with Parkinsons Disease.
Born Oct. 8, 1922, in Baltimore, Md., he was the son of the late Rudolph Henry and Ida Sophia Amburg Schnitzker, both first-generation Americans.
Dr. Schnitzker graduated from Patterson Park High School and Peabody Music School, a student of the violin, which he began at 6. In his youth, he saw Charles Lindburg.
In 1939, Dr. Schnitzker joined the Civilian Military training Camp at Fort Meade, Md., and coast artillery at Fort Monroe, Md. At Fort Monroe, he passed in review to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
In 1941, while at Transylvania University, he enlisted in the Navy. In July 1943, he was mobilized to the University of Louisville to finish premed. In January 1944, he began medical school in Baltimore. He did his externship at Maryland General Hospital and graduated in June 1947 from the University of Maryland.
He began his pediatric residency at the University of Louisville and Childrens Hospital in Louisville. He joined the army as a pediatric resident.
During the Korean conflict, he served at Fort Knox, where he began a pediatric clinic. From Fort Knox, he was assigned to Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C., where he finished post-residency. He took his boards in 1953 and became a diplomat of the American Board of Pediatrics. He became a Fellow of the Academy after starting private practice in 1955.
Dr. Schnitzker moved to Ashland and set up a pediatric practice in 1957. While in practice, he served as a professor at the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky. He was published in many medical journals, including JAMA, Pediatric Journal and American Journal of Diabetic Child and published two books of his own works.
He had a passion for travel both in the United States and the world. He participated in Elderhostel, Earth Watch and was an avid sailor. He retired from practice in 1989.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 53 years, Bettylee Schulte Schnitzker.
He is survived by three children, William F. Schnitzker Jr. (Kathy), Ellen Brown (Chester) and Nancy Schnitzker, all of Ashland; three grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and his dog, Lucy.
Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 21, at Steen Funeral Home-Central Avenue Chapel with the Rev. Mann Valentine VI and Dr. Dale Maddy officiating. Entombment will be in the Ashland Cemetery Mausoleum with military rites performed by American Legion Kenova Post 93. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Steen Funeral Home-Central Avenue Chapel.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Foundation for the Tri-State Community, earmarked for Pet Betterment Fund, P.O. Box 2096, Ashland, KY, 41105 or Parkinsons Society, 1380 Dublin Road, P.O. Box 16126, Columbus, OH, 43216-6126.
