Mr. Vincent J. Schilens

Vince, I know you now reside in a beautiful place, free to pursue the things you enjoy most. May God bless you. Your collegue Keith.

To the family, I express my heartfelt condolences. I will always remember Vince in a kind and thoughtful way. Remember Vince as he was and it will help see you through.

I miss you so so so much. The kids miss you too. Joe misses you...we keep talking about the great memories you have helped to create for us. It brings both smiles and tears to my face. Please continue to watch over my family. Love you so much....

may he rest in peace

Vince,
There is a place in my heart that is carved out just for you.

I have many memories of us growing up all way into adulthood. You were always the one that joked and you were rarely serious. You loved to laugh and make light of situations.

I remember one time when I came out to visit you in Indiana. You picked me up at the airport. I was suppose to ride in your truck bed because the kids were

Vince,
There is a place in my heart that is carved out just for you.

I have many memories of us growing up all way into adulthood. You were always the one that joked and you were rarely serious. You loved to laugh and make light of situations.

I remember one time when I came out to visit you in Indiana. You picked me up at the airport. I was suppose to ride in your truck bed because the kids were with you. You were so proud because you put a folding chair in the truck bed (which had a cap on it) so I had somewhere to sit. When I looked at the chair I asked you “where do you expect me to put my head”? You looked and realized the back of the chair touched the top of the cap. We both laughed so hard!

You are my big brother and I always looked up to you. I love you more than you ever knew.

Your loving sister, Kathy

One of my favorite memories as a child was going to visit Uncle Vince at his gun shop in Lorain, Oh. I remember him teaching me how to press bullets into shell casings, and thinking he was the coolest uncle in the world. I use to love when he would unlock his pinball machine at his gun shop so my sister and I could play countless games throughout the evening. I remember going to knife shows with my uncle vince

One of my favorite memories as a child was going to visit Uncle Vince at his gun shop in Lorain, Oh. I remember him teaching me how to press bullets into shell casings, and thinking he was the coolest uncle in the world. I use to love when he would unlock his pinball machine at his gun shop so my sister and I could play countless games throughout the evening. I remember going to knife shows with my uncle vince and my dad and being so proud of my Uncle for being apart of the shows. I have so many fond memories of Uncle Vince throughout my childhood; and appreciate him for teaching me so much along side my dad. I always remember my Uncle having a garden with so many fresh vegetables, and even pickling his own cucumbers for homemade pickles. I always thought him and my dad were the 2 smartest men, because they always knew how to do everything.

I wish that in my older years I would have been able to get to know him better. And through all of this, I have realized that your family is the most important people in your life. Every family member makes your family whole; they touch your lives, teach you things you appreciate later in life, and most importantly they shape the person you become. And for this I am so greatful to have had such a wonderful Uncle who was a true Schilens. Devoted, hardworking, hard-headed, grounded, loving, and most of all made an impact in the lives he came across.

Uncle Vince, I love you and I will miss you. May you rest in peace. I am happy knowing that you will be rejoicing in heaven with Grandpa Schilens and Aunt Diane.

To Dawn, Joe, Aunt Teresa, Aunt Kathy, Aunt Donna, Grandma, and dad: I am deeply sorry for your loss. You are all in my thoughts and prayers.

I will always remember Uncle Vince joking around to make us kids laugh. I always looked up to him and loved him very much. I remember him teasing me, calling me Charlotte Lynn, even though my middle name is Marie! I cherish all the happy memories of Uncle Vince, all the good times we shared at family parties and the time we spent at the cottage. I love you, Uncle Vince, may you rest in peace with Aunt Diane in heaven and I look forward to seeing you again one day :)

Dawn, I will pray for your family that you will have strength and comfort at this most difficult time. Brenda

My father would not want me to mourn him. My father would not want me to cry. He was a bit stubborn. But so am I. I cried and I mourned. I cried by myself, I cried with my wife, I cried with my sister, with good friends and good family...and I'm probably not done yet.

Sorry, dad, but I'm stubborn, too.

I just want to say thank you dad. Thank you for such a wonderful life. Thank you for helping me

My father would not want me to mourn him. My father would not want me to cry. He was a bit stubborn. But so am I. I cried and I mourned. I cried by myself, I cried with my wife, I cried with my sister, with good friends and good family...and I'm probably not done yet.

Sorry, dad, but I'm stubborn, too.

I just want to say thank you dad. Thank you for such a wonderful life. Thank you for helping me become the man I am. Husband, father, and hopefully someday grandfather.

I can only hope that my children and grandchildren can enjoy me, be supported, encouraged, and loved so well as you have done for us.

You touched many lives, and though you won't admit it, you were often the best man in the room often unnoticed and unrecognized. But I saw it, I knew.

I know that you know I love you. Your grandchildren love you and will be raised with your love of life, faith in God, virtuous values, hard work ethic, and never give up attitude. (although I don't think I can do anything about the stubbornness)

I love you and know that this is only a temporary situation. I will be with you when the time is right.

Go in peace and be with the ones who have gone be fore you. Always know that I love you, pops.

Kathy- Nancy and I are sorry for your Loss.
Rick and Nancy Minten

How can I put into words how I felt about my brother Vince? It hurts to write this because I loved him so much and there is so much I wish I would have said if I would have known he was to leave this earth so suddenly and so early in his life. I took a bike ride today. A dragonfly rode with me for awhile and I thought to myself I wonder if that is Vince’s spirit telling

How can I put into words how I felt about my brother Vince? It hurts to write this because I loved him so much and there is so much I wish I would have said if I would have known he was to leave this earth so suddenly and so early in his life. I took a bike ride today. A dragonfly rode with me for awhile and I thought to myself I wonder if that is Vince’s spirit telling me he was somehow with me and that he knows I loved him and that he understands everything and he loves me. I tried to mentally tell this to him, hoping that he was with me and he heard me say that I was sorry I was not there more for him especially at the end. I hope he heard me say that I remember all the good times we had. I hope he knows that I remember how much he loved me and took care of me when I was little. I hope he knows that I loved him too. My brother Vince was with me from the time I was born. He was with me throughout my childhood, teenage years and adulthood. He was a good Uncle to my children and a good friend to my husband. At one point in time we both had jobs in Independence, OH and and we would meet for lunch. That was where he taught me to shoot a gun at a shooting range. We met several times and would shoot at that same shooting range. Then our jobs took us elsewhere. Another good thing I remember is the bonfires we would have in his backyard. One time we came over and he had a big huge fire all ready for us and he had all kinds of stuff in it including a mattress and plastic tables! We lit it and there was a huge thunderhead of smoke that looked like an atomic bomb. We all laughed so hard it hurt. One time he brought some homemade wine to the cottage and we drank it then went swimming. His homemade wine tasted like kool-aid, but hit you like a ton of bricks. I remember laughing and having such a fun! Then our Dad called us in and told us to get out of the water before we drowned. Another time when we were together we decided to get fireworks in Sandusky. We stopped at a Speedway and my husband John had to use the bathroom; but it was not available so he went into the woods. He ended up walking into a mucky swamp that was like quicksand. He had to grasp onto a tree and pull himself out. He came out with muck all up past his knees. We took one look at him and laughed so hard. Then about a month later he told us that he had a very bad smell in his car that he could not figure out what it was. He then found John’s shoes in the back with all the muck on them. Those were good times. We had fun and I will always remember those good times. The dragonfly flew with me for quite awhile today as I remembered all this and so much more. I thought to myself I really hope it was Vince and somehow he was riding with me today. The dragonfly then was not with me anymore. I turned to look and could not see it. I waved goodbye hoping upon all hope that it was Vince and he knows I was trying to say goodbye. I love you Vince. I will never ever forget you and all the cherished memories I will forever hold dear.