Fred “Freddie” Schuttie, was born in Romania on September 12, 1927. He emigrated to the United States at an early age. Evidently he had settled in Dundee by the age of 25. We know this because that is the year (1952) he started working for Haeger Pottery. He was hired by the Dundee Township Lion’s first president, Joseph Estes, the president of Haeger Pottery.
Fred worked at Haeger for 42 years, finally retiring in 1994. Although most of us here never had the opportunity to meet Fred, we can detect from his life actions that he was a man of dedication. He put his heart and soul into his endeavors.
His “Lionism” clearly denotes this. He joined the Dundee Township Lions in 1967. He was forty years old. He continued to serve the community as a Lion until the day of his death on January 17, 2003, a total of 36 years.
During that time he was active in just about every activity the Lion’s were involved with.
Examples of these activities include Lions Annual Ice Carnival, Candy Day, Litter Pick-up along roads and paths, the Lions Chicken & Corn Roast, a huge fund raiser for the Lions for many years. As an example, in 1969 – netted a profit of $3,200. ($26,000 in 2023)
Fred was also instrumental in helping to organize and establish the Dundee Township Lioness Club. All the Initial meetings were held at his home.
Over a period of 24 years, he served as President of the Dundee Township Lions Club for four terms, the first term being 1979-80, and the 4th term being 2002-03.
After being a lion for just 12 years, he served as Lions Deputy Governor in 1978
In 1982 he served as Lt. District Governor
In 1983-4 he served as District Governor of Lions International District l J
And then, in May or June of 1983, Fred Schuttie was elected as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Lions of Illinois Foundation. The board is com-posed of 12 District Governors and 12 District Trustees. As a board member, he oversaw statewide humanitarian service programs.
On a personal note, Fred married his Rosa (Rosie) on Feb. 22, 1947. They were married for 55 years. Rosie is still with us in 2023. The reason why our fellow Lion John Cichowski is with us today, is because of Rosie. John, her neighbor, was looking for a way to serve the community. It was Rosie that en-couraged John to become a Dundee Lion.
Fred was community minded. His Lionism demonstrated that. So did his in-volvement with the Bethlehem Lutheran Church, where he served as a Church Trustee, and also as Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
Our local paper of the time, the Cardunal Free Press, August 15, 1978, ran an article about the Lions and quoted Fred Schuttie. This article was regarding the Lions annual Chicken and Corn Roast. Fred’s comment really sums up “Lionism and Fred Schuttie”: He said: “The Lions Club really appreciates the way people of Dundee come out to support our projects. We as a club realize that we can only be as good as our community lets us, and that is why the Dundee Club is one of the finest.”
Cardunal Free Press,
June 17, 1983
