GLOUCESTER: William “Willy” Schick, a holocaust survivor, of Gloucester died on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2010 at the Addison Gilbert Hospital. He was the husband of Barbara Jean (Smith) Schick.
Born in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia on December 16, 1920, he was the son of the late Leopold and Maria (Steiner) Schick. His family moved to Prague when he was two years old.
When Germany invaded Czechoslovakia, he and his family were sent to concentration camps. He and his brother, Zoltan, survived the camps for nearly five years including the extermination camp, Auschwitz. His parents did not survive. When he was able to return to Czechoslovakia, he worked for the Czech Airlines as a translator, as he was able to speak five languages.
When the communists took over Czechoslovakia, he made a daring escape to Germany where he met a couple who sponsored him to the United States.
He met his wife at a New Year’s Eve Party and they shared 45 years of marriage. They lived on Dudley Pond in Wayland for 33 years. He was a member of the Dudley Pond Association and belonged to the Sudbury River Tennis Club in Framingham. He loved tennis, skiing and was a semi-pro soccer player in Czechoslovakia. William and his wife lived in Rockport, Venice, Florida and finally Gloucester. He was employed as a sales manager in the automotive business in Waltham.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by two daughters and sons-in-law, Sylvia and Gordon Young, Ricarda and Robert Roche; a stepdaughter, Mary Alana “Timmie”, wife of Howard Friedman; sisters-in-law, Jamila Schick; a niece, Dr. Denise Frey and her husband, Dr. Gerard Frey, brother-in-law, Chester, and his wife Cookie Smith and sister-in-law, Christine Smith, several grandchildren and his very best friend, “Leroy.” He was also predeceased by his brother, Zoltan Schick.
His funeral services will be held privately. There are no visiting hours. Expressions of sympathy may be made in his memory to the Cape Ann Animal Aid, 260 Main Street, Gloucester, MA 01930.