John Harding Schilling, Jr. entered the Academy out of High School from Aiken, SC. He was the son of John and Mildred Schilling. His appointment came from Senator Strom Thurmond. John brought to the Academy all the gentle refinements of a Southern Gentleman without the Mint Julep. His fine and varied taste in music was well known to his closest friends, and he perhaps had the greatest store of general world knowledge of any man alive. John married in late 1970 and started a family but later divorced.
After graduation, John served honorably in the Surface Line Community before resigning his commission in 1976. He then worked in human resources for Exxon in NJ, and Clorox in Oakland, CA. He relocated to San Francisco in 1978 and worked for Sohio Petroleum and Charles Schwab. At the time of his death, John was vice president of administration at Coremark International in South San Francisco. John is survived by his daughter, Allison and three grandchildren; his mother, Mildred, of Aiken, SC; sisters Terry, Becky, Debbie, Marianne and Patty; brother, Andy; and their families. John was preceded in death by his father, John Sr., only 30 days before. John’s mother was with John when he passed away.
John gave generously to causes he carefully chose and scrutinized. He was a member of the board of directors of Theatre Rhinoceros. Donations can be made in John’s name to Project Open Hand and Visiting Nurses and Hospice of San Francisco.
Updated: November 02, 2018
Curator: Ed Moore