GUSTAV EMIL SCHUMAN / 1929-2005

Landmark car
dealership owner had
passion for ranching

Gustav Emil "Dutch" Schuman, 76, president and owner of Schuman Inc., died last Wednesday at home.

The Big Island rancher and former Department of Hawaiian Home Lands commissioner was the third generation to operate Schuman Carriage Co., founded in 1893 by the grandfather whose name he shared.

The landmark dealership on South Beretania Street was shut down last year after the company could not find a buyer for the business. Another Hawaii-based auto-dealing family now leases the space.

Schuman was born to Gustav William Schuman and Zena Mossman, and went to work for the family business as a teenager during summer vacations from Punahou School.

Schuman left college during his sophomore year to work for the company full-time after his father became ill.

The company acquired NAPA Auto Parts in 1955, and Schuman served on the NAPA board of directors from 1960 until he sold the business in November 2003.

In 1959 Dutch Schuman was named company president, and in 1974 he acquired the Hawaii Subaru distributorship, which the family still owns. He led the day-to-day operations of the automotive-related companies well into the 1980s. He was chairman of the board when he died.

The horse that for years graced the Schuman Carriage showroom hinted at another of Schuman's passions -- ranching.

In 1974, he established S.C. Ranch Co., an 8,000-acre ranch on the Big Island where he raised cattle and horses.

"Dutch was one of the most progressive ranchers in Hawaii at the time, pioneering new breeding techniques for his Charolais cattle," said Keoki Wood, Schuman's former ranch manager. "He was one of the first to introduce and utilize embryo transplants, now a common practice."

Wood is now livestock operations manager at Parker Ranch.

"He bred and raised some of the finest quarter horses in the state, and (his wife) Kerry showed them to great acclaim and recognition in local and mainland cow horse competitions," he said.

Part-Hawaiian, Schuman was appointed to the Hawaiian Homes Commission in the 1970s and had strong opinions about Hawaiian issues, said state Sen. Clayton Hee (D, Kahuku-Kaneohe). The commission sets policy and oversees the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands' awarding of leases to native Hawaiians.

"He never lost touch with his Hawaiian blood and heritage," Hee said. "His only regret was serving the commission at a time when its ability to award property was limited by chronic underfunding. He and I had many spirited discussions about strides Hawaiians had made as a people and accomplishments yet to be made. He cared very deeply about that."

In addition to his widow, Schuman is survived by children Michael "Skip" (Taryn), Duchess, G. Richard (Diane) and Heidi; five grandchildren; and sisters Carroll Leilani Schuman and Dr. Manulani Lyall.

Visitation will be held at 9:30 a.m. Friday at Borthwick Mortuary, followed by an 11:30 a.m. service. Burial at Oahu Cemetery will be private.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions in Schuman's memory to the Hawaiian Humane Society, Hawaii Foodbank or Honolulu Waldorf School, Schuman Fund.