Albert N. Schell Jr., who flew planes for the Navy and had a career as a builder, died Feb. 8 at his home in Ridgefield, Conn. He was 91.
In addition to his wife of almost 61 years, Dinah Buckhout Schell, he is survived by his daughter, Elizabeth Ann (Christopher) Garti, his son, James Albert (Jacqueline) Schell, seven grandchildren; and two sisters, Suzanne Urda, of Blue Bell, Pa., and Carol Collins of Port Townsend, Wash. He was predeceased by his oldest son, Richard Stanton Schell.
Schell was born March 29, 1933, in Aliquippa, Pa., to Albert N. Schell Sr., and Ruth Keck Schell. One of six children, he was predeceased by his brothers James and William Schnell and a sister, Mary Musgrave.
He attended Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh, where he earned a civil engineering degree and was a starting member of the varsity football team. After graduation, he served as a naval officer and pilot, stationed in Sanford, Fla., and on the USS Randolph in the Mediterranean.
Following his honorable discharge, he took a job in the tristate area working as a salesman for Armco, where he met Dinah Buckhout, and after three months they married May 16, 1964, at Whippoorwill Country Club in Armonk. Last year, they returned to the club to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary.
Schnell and his wife raised three children in Katonah and Waccabuc. They enjoyed traveling to their vacation home on Lake Rescue in Ludlow, Vt., where they skied, went boating, and told ghost stories on the lake with family and friends. He and his wife built homes in Charlestown, R.I., and then Grantham, N.H., and purchased a home on Sanibel Island, Fla., when they retired.
He served several years as a board member at the Village Savings Bank, and was active in the Katonah Rotary Club, and supported both Katonah and South Salem’s Presbyterian Church. His work career, after 40 active years as president of Fair-Chester Builders Inc. in Pleasantville, ended in 1997 when he retired.
His family said that he will always be known for his hard work ethic, kind-heartedness, vigor, humility and generosity.
A celebration of his life will be planned at a future time. Arrangements are being made by Clark Associates Funeral Home in Katonah.