Schill

SCHILL

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 10/15/2010 at 23:55:13

History of Woodbury County, Iowa 1984

Schill
By E H Schill

Emerson H Schill, better known as ‘Em’ was born in Fort Dodge and raised in the Episcopal Church, but at a grade school age, his boyhood friends invited and persuaded him to join the First Presbyterian Church there.

Marion Schill was born a Methodist in Vincent, Iowa, but at an early age, she with her family moved to Fort Dodge in 1919.

Em graduated from Grinnell College and came to Sioux City to work for the Sioux City Journal in the advertising department where he was later made advertising manager. Marion graduated from Iowa State Teachers College and taught at Otho and Fort Dodge.

Rev Tompkins put Em right to work in the Sunday School and on June 18, 1930, Marion and Em were married by Rev Semans in the Fort Dodge First Methodist Church. Both became very active in First United Methodist. Marion taught Sunday School for about thirty-five years. Among other jobs Em taught in the Sunday School and was also superintendent and in 1950 and 1955 was Finance Chairman with the huge budget of $30,000.

On September 22, 1938, John was born and June 16, 1942, James was born. John is running his own ‘Pizza Bank’ in Philomath, Oregon, and James is finishing his seventeenth year with the State Department as refugee coordinator in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

In 1945 Em joined the Business School faculty of the USD. In 1947 the family returned to Sioux City where Em was chosen as sales manager of the Gerkin Company, a position he held for seventeen years.

Besides her interesting and rewarding experience as a Sunday School teacher, Marion was also sponsor of the Queen Esthers. Em also coached the Pioneer Major basketball league. They played teams in Sioux City or traveled to Akron, Hawarden and LeMars besides the Tri-State Tournament in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Em retired from the Sioux City after eleven years as manager of the Convention & Visitors Bureau and today serves that committee as a volunteer.

Marion was on the Florence Crittendon Board for ten years, on the Boys & Girls Home Board for six years and one year on the YWCA board. She also served as chairperson of the United Way Residential Division in 1956. She is a past president of GR Chapter P.E.O. She is a volunteer at St Lukes Hospital.

Em is past president of the noon Lions Club, a fifty-year Mason and is holder of the Silver Beaver Award of the Boy Scouts of America.

Marion and Em have visited many churches in many states but still think that First United Methodist Church in Sioux City is tops.