Meredith "Dutch" E. Schultz

The life and story of the great “Dutch” man.

Meredith “Dutch” Eugene Schultz passed away on Sunday, September 3, 2023, at the age of 83 surrounded by family at Sanford Hospital in Fargo, ND.

Meredith was born in Hawley, MN on August 29, 1940. He was the son of Sylvia and Homer Schultz. He attended Hawley public school where his love of sports was born. He excelled in boxing (until he was knocked out in the first round), basketball and football. When he moved to Moorhead High School, they welcomed him because he was such a gifted athlete in Hawley. He moved from being a Nugget to a Spud. When the Spuds played the Nuggets, the Hawley Herald reported “The score should have been the Nuggets 49 - Spuds 42 and Schultz 20 and next time, Schultz, stay home”.

He graduated from Moorhead High School and attended Concordia College. His time at Concordia was impacted by the death of his father. As a result, Dutch assumed the responsibilities of taking care of his mother. He graduated with an education degree and his knowledge of sports earned him a profession in coaching.

Right out of college he worked at Kindred and then moved to Halstad and worked for the public school there. He coached baseball in which he took the Pirates to state. It was there he met his future wife, Kathryn Lindgren, a Halstad graduate. They were married in Hillsboro, ND and soon after moved to Fargo, ND and raised four children.

With a growing family, Dutch worked several jobs such as the Armor Meat packing plant, Ole’s Nursery (getting nice and toned during the summer) and was also the “Mr. Repo Man” for GM where he eventually had to stop because it got too dangerous.
Eventually he returned to his love of education. He was hired as Principal at Felton and later as a teacher and basketball and football assistant coach when they became Glyndon-Felton. Dutch had a fantastic girls basketball team that went to regional several times but could never grasp the state title. 

Dutch’s second passion was advocating for his teachers. He negotiated for higher pay and increased benefits. At the expense of making enemies of the school board members, he stood up and fought for what was right for the teachers.

He was active in the Minnesota Education Association and in the summer attended the National Education Association convention as a delegate for several years. Eventually he retired but was still involved in the education system working as a substitute in ND and MN and even did some traveling through Europe, always talking history along the way.

He then took up managing Prairie Wood Golf Course where he organized the Senior Golf Tournament. Meredith and Kathryn finally decided to buy a home in Arizona with the thought of being closer to family and of course avoiding winter weather but ended up being there more in the summer. 

After his illness, things slowed down and more or less came to a halt especially after the death of his son, Jason. He was cared for by a very special person in all our lives, Mandi. He depended on her for care and company. I’m sure she heard all his stories more than once.

Dutch is survived by his wife, Kathryn; children, Davilyn (Cary) Johnson, Robert (Amanda), and Patrick; grandchildren, Sydney (Jordan), Eric, Madison, Matthew, Andrew, Logan, Abrahm, Amelia, Brooke, and Louis; sister, Mary Heimark; and granddog, Darby (his protector and cohort).

He was preceded in death by his son, Jason; dad, Homer; mom, Sylvia Schultz Kuehl and stepdad, Norman Kuehl; brothers, Darrell and Alan Schultz; sister-in-law, Sylvia Schultz; and special aunt, Gladys Olson.

He experienced life to the fullest and always found a story in whatever he did. This final story of a compassionate, funny, personable, competitive man who loved life and may his stories live on through family and friends.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 7, 2023, at 2:00 PM with a visitation one hour before the service at Wright Funeral Home, Moorhead, MN.