So, That WWII Vet Who Froze To Death Over A $1000 Utility Bill Had $600,000 in Savings

[stopbush]

You remember the story from last week. A 93-year-old WWII vet froze to death because he owed the utility company $1000 and they turned off his heat.

Turns out he left his entire estate to a hospital. It was valued at $600,000.

This is ludicrous.

The guy was worth that much and a $1000 bill doesn't get paid? I'm going to assume this guy was mentally disabled or something. I hope this wasn't just a case of him being stubborn.

Somebody should have been watching out for and advising this man:

War II medic who froze to death last month in his Bay City, Michigan, home left his entire estate to a local hospital, an estate attorney told CNN Wednesday.


Local and state officials agree that Schur's death was avoidable.

The attorney would not disclose the exact amount left behind by Martin Schur. But his nephew said his uncle indicated to family members two years ago that he had saved up more than a half-million dollars over the years. Schur and his wife, Marian, who died more than a year ago, did not have any children.

"I just know at one time he said he had over $600,000 in savings," said William Walworth. "That's what he told me and my brother, and he was proud that he was able to save and build his estate up to that."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/04/freezing.death.folo/index.html

[Tangerine LaBamba]

1. He should have had someone

handling his affairs. Where was his family?

What a sad, sad story.

[rollingrock]

2. I wonder what his living conditions were

did he live in a dump? was he just a cheap bastard all his life?

[Pirate Smile]

3. It looked like a nice but small, older house. His savings definitely puts a different spin on the

tragedy.

edit to add:

[rollingrock]

10. Its looks kinda dumpy

if I had that kind of money I certainly wouldn't be living in freezing arctic weather, unless I was too cheap to move out of my dump.

[riderinthestorm]

15. Gee, that looks a bit like my house. I live in Northern Illinois where it's -5 right now.

Windchill in the negative teens.

We have a neighborhood here though. A family farm. A business. We aren't moving even if we had money and weren't "cheap". Chances are this guy could have moved to Florida where he would have been one of those people who fried in his home when he didn't turn on the AC. Just because someone lives in the north doesn't imply anything about their "cheapness" or lack thereof.

Oh, and thanks for calling my place a "dump" :eyes: And welcome to DU, I guess.

[Merlot]

18. kinda hard to move when you're 93

A lot of times older people won't move. Plus, his wife died last year.

[rollingrock]

22. He had that money for years

he could have movedlong before becoming too frail or infirm, or at least could have afforded a good nursing home. he also sounds like he's long been estranged from his family and children, or simply may be the kind of person that no one likes to be around (not even his own family). For some reason this article makes me think of A Christmas Story, with Ebenezer Scrooge freezing to death alone in his little shack with only his pile of gold coins to keep him company. Sorry but that's the only impression I get from reading this particular story.

[girl gone mad]

24. Yes, we all should move into McMansions out West..

How's that strategy working out for Americans?

[DoctorMyEyes]

6. nice...

93 year old war veteran suffers a slow and excruciating death and you call him a cheap bastard. Welcome to DU - where have you been all our lives?

[Vanje]

21. In

Troll-land

[Incitatus]

4. Where were his family members when he was freezing to death?

I saw something about them contesting his will that left everything to a local hospital.

[slampoet]

12. He outlived most of his direct family.

[Pirate Smile]

17. That happens sometimes when people live that long. My great, great Aunt died a month ago. She was

93 also. She had buried her husband, two sons, one grandson and almost all of her friends.

She said she thought God forgot her. :cry:

[slampoet]

23. My parents are taking care of a family friend who has outlived his wife and 2 kids

He's a retired Doctor who was living well on his own until a scumbag swindled him out of his house and savings 3 years ago and it has been downhill since, but my folks live in a town that is a good place for retired people so he ought to at least have enough other 85 year olds around.

Sorry to hear about your Aunt.

[BlooInBloo]

5. Oh - he's rich. To hell with him then - wish they could all go like that...

So say wonderful, compassionate DUers, and any rate.

Just wait until they learn he was a foreigner.

[razors edge]

11. Oh No!

the dreaded "other".

Why did they wait so long to limit his power usage.

They could have settled this all sooner had they only been more vigilant.

:sarcasm:

[stopbush]

19. Did you bother reading my original post?

You know, where I wrote: "Somebody should have been watching out for and advising this man."

Don't think so.

[1]

7. the mind of someone that old can go terribly wrong. and left alone with no help...

this story is just so sad and unbelievable.

now just watch the various "family" members come out of the woodwork and try to get their hands on the money he left behind. i would bet on it...

[BDW1964]

8. This mindset/behavior

is all too common in the elderly, particularly those who grew up during the Great Depression. A personal case in point: My grandmother is 87, she has told me many times that she cannot afford to run the A/C in summer, heat in winter, buy much groceries, buy shoes, etc. She lives next door to my Dad, her son. In December, I visited them and took her the grocery store and bought her $250 in groceries. I later told my Dad and stepmom what I did and offered to pay her utility bills if she or they can't afford it.

My Dad started snickering and told me, "You have been had". He showed me her bank account, which had over $150,000 in it and then took me over and showed me at least 10 coffee cans full of $10 bills and said there is over $50,000 in cash. He told me that he pays her utilities, she just refuses to run the A/C or heater unless it gets unbearably hot or cold.

In her mind, she can't afford anything. In reality, she has more liquid assets than I do. I later spoke to this with another family member who works at Texas Dept. of Aging and Disability Services and they told me this all too common. It has something to do with growing up in the Great Depression and with just aging and how they perceive things. It also has to do with having something to get attention about, part of a "pity party" thing, in some cases.

It is sad this man did not have a younger family member to watch over them, pay the bills etc.

[anonymous171]

9. The fact remains that his heat was restricted because he didn't pay.

[Gormy Cuss]

13. Right. The fact also remains that he was 93 and had a bill with cash clipped to it in the house.

Maybe he had some dementia. Maybe he had mobility issues due to the winter weather.

The fact of the matter is that this public utility shuts off electricity in the dead of winter. That's wrong no matter how you explain it.

[anonymous171]

14. Agreed. nt

[The Traveler]

16. Maybe he was trying to make a point

He was 93. Perhaps he asked, "What would happen to an old guy like me if I didn't have $600K in the bank? Maybe we should all find out ..."

Life, as a friend recently reminded me, is not a journey one wants to end by parking the car (your body) neatly under the roof of the garage. You want to come in with tires smoking, skidding into that parking place, all beat up with fenders falling off while yelling at the top of your lungs "WHAT A FUCKIN' RIDE!!!!".

Maybe this guy at the end of his life decided that his life was itself the best weapon he had. Maybe he was just trying to make one final point before skidding into that parking place ...

Trav

[eShirl]

20. Sometimes unpaid bills are one of the first clues to the onset of dementia.

I've seen this a couple times; both were people who were soon diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease.