Vincent George Schulte

It is with deep sadness that we announce the peaceful passing of Vincent George Schulte on September 5, 2025. He was 88 years old and had fought a long and courageous battle with cancer. To the very end, Vince maintained his warm and loving smile, strength of character, kindness towards others, gentle nature, his insatiable quest for knowledge, and his unwavering love for his wife of 64 years, Jeannine, and his daughter, Cherie. Vince was born on August 1, 1937, in Covington, Kentucky, and was the eldest of eight children. Starting at a young age, he displayed a love for learning, instilled in him by his mother and the influence of his favorite Uncle, George Paine. After graduating from Holmes High School in 1954, Vince went to The University of Kentucky. While home from college on break, he met the woman that would become his wife, and together they would have a long and loving marriage and raise two wonderful children. At UK Vince earned a bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees all in Psychology, and upon completion of his doctorate, he began his career in higher education at Berea College. In 1972, when he learned Northern Kentucky University would be hiring a number of new faculty, Vince and his young family returned home, and he began his long and distinguished career at NKU. Vince worked at NKU for 27 years, most of that time in the Psychology Department. He served as Psychology Department Chair for ten years and hired faculty with specializations that increased the breadth of course offerings. Most importantly, he offered steady trustworthy leadership and chose to run the department utilizing a cooperative model which became a template that every succeeding chair has followed creating a department that is pleasant, productive and nurturing. From 1973 to 1976 Vince also served the university as Coordinator of Student Affairs, overseeing many different areas of student life. During this time Vince worked with university administrators and off campus promotors to hire many up-and-coming recording artists to perform for the students at NKU’s Regents Hall. Artists such as Billy Joel, The Eagles, Pure Prairie League, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, and Loggins and Messina were among the many artists Vince was able to procure. Being an athlete himself, Vince was also highly involved in campus athletics and served as Vice Chair of the Athletic Council for its first six years of existence. So admired was he that in1990, an award was named in his honor. The Vincent G. Schulte Athlete of Distinction Award is the highest honor an NKU student-athlete can receive from the University and is based on academic excellence, athletic ability and achievement, character and leadership. Vince was also devoted to his country and in a span of 30 years was in The US Army and US Army Reserves Medical Service Corps, retiring with the prestigious rank of Lieutenant Colonel. During his time in the military, he received many commendations including being named the honor graduate of his class, as well as being named a life member of the Reserve Officers Association. Vince was also a proud Kentuckian and was bestowed the honor of Kentucky Colonel serving as a good will ambassador for the Commonwealth. At the age of 48, at the height of his career, Vince learned that he had Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia and without a highly experimental (at the time) bone marrow transplant, his life expectancy would be measured in only months. Luckily, Vince’s sister, Christine Lohbeck was an exact match and although his chance of survival with a transplant would still only be around ten percent, he decided to move up to Columbus, Ohio with his wife an laughter and receive the transplant at The Ohio State University. At the time he was the oldest recipient of this type of transplant. Vince approached his leukemia diagnosis with the same strength, determination and fight that characterized every facet of his life. After spending many months in the hospital and then more in an apartment near OSU for continued treatment, Vince and his family returned to their home in Taylor Mill. Over the next 39 “bonus” years of his life his body would continue to battle many harsh side effects stemming from the transplant and his body’s reaction to his new bone marrow. Eventually he was able to return to teaching Psychology. Vince retired completely from NKU in 1999 and was given emeritus faculty status at the University, which is a respected title that acknowledges a professor’s past achievements, distinguished career and significant contributions to the academic community. Over the remainder of his life, Vince and Jeannine would spend their time traveling to all the destinations and historic landmarks he read about in his youth. As his health began to fail in his later years his focus was primarily on his wife, children, immediate family and friends. Although Vince was passionate about his professional life, his wife and children were always his top priority. He was very much a hands-on dad instilling in his children his love of learning, reading, dancing, movies, cooking, and listening to an eclectic mix of music. Vince was also a lover of the great outdoors and he and his family would spend many summers swimming, canoeing, camping, taking family trips to Kings Island, and boating at Brookville Lake. Vince was also an animal lover and could always be found with his loyal beagle, Rascal, by his side. Vince’s other passion was watching his beloved University of Kentucky Wildcats play basketball. As a student at UK, Vince and Jeannine attended many games at Memorial Coliseum, and as an adult he never missed an opportunity to watch their games on TV. Vince was proud of the extensive library of books he collected over his lifetime, as well as his collection of military models and model trains. He never lost his zest for knowledge and learning and even at the end of his life was able to answer almost every question on Jeopardy correctly. Vince is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 64 years, Jeannine Schulte (nee Wayman); his daughter, Cherie Schulte Walker (John); his grandchildren, Jacob Walker (Ashley), and Jenna Walker; several greatgrandchildren; his sisters, Nancy Meyer (Ron), Vicki Vater (Darrell), Pamm Taylor, Christine Lohbeck, Faye Davis (Randy), and Holly Stetter (Jim); and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father, Vincent Frank Schulte; his mother, Virginia Schulte (nee Paine); his sister, June Schaber; and his son, Vincent Gregory Schulte. Vince’s legacy of kindness, of service and devotion to his country, state, students, colleagues, friends, and family will live on through the countless number of people who knew him. A Remembrance Service will be held for immediate family at Madonna Manor in Villa Hills, Kentucky. The family kindly requests that, instead of flowers, donations be made to one of the charities listed below to honor the memory of Vincent George Schulte. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society: leukemiarf.org Kenton County Animal Services: kentoncounty.org/153/Animal-Services Wounded Warrior Project: Support.woundedwarriorproject.org