Richard G. Schaub, Jr.

The Schaub family is heartsick to announce the passing of our brother Rick.

What a remarkable and full life he lived.

Our family’s roots are in Long Beach, in Northwest Indiana, where Rick was a member of the very first graduating class of LaLumiere, which is a nationally known and highly regarded preparatory school co-founded in 1965 by our Dad, Dick Schaub.  We grew up near South Bend as hard-core Notre Dame fans, and even years later Rick would meet up with his lifelong Indiana buddies for tailgating and football games at the legendary stadium.

He attended Georgetown University, the University of West Florida and New York University.

From Indiana the family base became San Juan, Puerto Rico and then Pensacola before settling in Vero Beach. The two constants that we carried with us in all our moves and adventures were laughter and our sense of family.  Our parents, Mary and Dick Schaub, never allowed those two things to fade, regardless of our circumstances or our location.

In Pensacola and Vero, Rick partnered in business with his best friend, his father.  Together, along with his brother architect Clem Schaub, they created many of Pensacola’s and Vero’s best-known beach communities.

Their positive impact on Indian River County was profound.

In the 1980s, at a time when many “developers” were lobbying for higher-density high-rises along the area’s beaches to mimic South Florida, Rick and Dick championed the idea of lower-density communities highlighting a less hectic lifestyle and the area’s natural attributes.  Thankfully their vision prevailed, setting the tone for what we now know as Vero’s beach vibe.  This resulted in such communities as Baytree, The Shores, and Grand Harbor. Today Vero Beach is a haven on Florida’s east coast, thanks at least in part to their pioneering efforts forty years ago.

We can’t go any further without talking about Rick’s wife and our beloved “sister” Melinda Cooper, who pre-deceased Rick by only a few weeks. The two were a delightful force to be reckoned with, sharing their passions for family, art, fashion and travel.  As many know, Melinda was the owner of the Cooper & Co. boutique and was a highly successful businessperson in her own right.

Rick was born with strong opinions and a drive for perfection. His sense of style, design and architecture was intertwined with his passion for art.  He was an accomplished and respected collector of modern art and was a driving force in the establishment of the Vero Beach Museum of Art, formerly the Vero Beach Center for the Arts.

Rick carried a strong sense of family throughout his entire life.  This included late night laughter around the family table (wherever it might be located at the time) as well as blackjack card games with his nieces and nephews.  In blackjack, Rick was always the house, at least until the little ones learned the lesson that “the house always wins.”  He and Melinda were ruthless at gin rummy in family tournaments. Rick had his own secret recipe for “popcorn Sundays” that left everyone calling for another batch.  He was there for family, with advice and counsel when it was sought.

Rick is also pre-deceased by his sons Stefane and Michael.

Rick is survived by his seven charming and brilliant siblings and their equally wonderful spouses, Gina Garvin, Clem & Viki Schaub, Jim & Elaine Schaub, Susie & Ken Raisch, Sally & Andy Rivero, Raymond Schaub and Joan & Jim Morgulec, as well as 16 nieces and nephews , and now a bunch of grand-nieces and nephews and still growing.

He is mourned by the staff at Bobby’s, a favorite meeting spot for Saturday lunches.

We were taught that, when pouring wine for a guest, it is poured with a flourish, a twist of the bottle like a sommelier. Rick took that lesson to the next level and lived his whole life with a flourish.

We miss Rick and Melinda. Their passing has left a huge void for all of us.  We are all profoundly honored and lucky to have gone through our lives with them. They have lifted us all, and they challenge us now to live our lives with a flourish.

There will be a dual service at Holy Cross Catholic Church at 10 am on Friday, November 13^th, followed by a reception at Quail Valley Club.

***Please click this link to livestream the funeral mass https://www.youtube.com/live/cThQMrlrk-k?si=lRYxcZJjv16IBrCy ****

Arrangements are by Thomas S. Lowther Funeral Home & Crematory, Vero Beach.