Ewald "Chris" Schimik, 71, of Royal Oak and Kalkaska, a retired businessman and environmental activist, died Mar 1, 1994 on Sanibel Island, FL, where he had been vacationing.
A native of Austria, Mr. Schimik emigrated to the U.S. in 1958. In 1959, in partnership with John G. Davey of Birmingham, he cofounded Imported Cars of Royal Oak. The firm later became a Fiat dealership and flourished until 1990.
"Chris Schimik was a great man," said Davey, when informed of his former partner's death. "He will be sorely missed."
An avid outdoors man, Mr. Schimik's exploits as a fisherman and a hunter were legendary. In 1980, he and his wife made a camping trip to the Artic Circle, driving both ways in their little Fiat and spending nights on frozen tundra in an unheated tent. "That's the way Chris was," Davey said. "He was equal to any challenge."
In 1938, when German troops invaded Austria, Mr. Schimik was a young seaman, training to said three masted schooners. He was conscripted into the German Navy, where he served on five different merchant ships that were sunk by Allied gunfire. In Jul 1943, he was in Hamburg, when U.S. - British aircraft bombed that city for three days and three nights. In this country he lectured at schools and libraries about the horrors of war. In 1972, the Schimik's bought a summer home on Kettle Lake Road in Kalkaska which became the focal point for his many fishing expeditions. His favorite fish was the steelhead trout; his favorite river, the Jordan.
Ewald Hans Schimik was born in Austria on Jun 1, 1922. He is survived by his wife, the former Doris Gallowitsch; a son, Ewald Gunter of Traverse City; a sister, Reinhilde Taylor of the Island of Malta; and two granddaughters, Erika, 18 and Kristin, 16, also of Traverse City.
After an autopsy, physicians said death was instantaneous, caused by a massive heart attack. His remains were cremated. Tributes may be made to the American Heart Association.
