If you’re ever at Buffalo Terrace and looking for Marvin Schultz, you can often find him in the Patio Room or Wooden Nickel playing games with his friends. Marvin has long enjoyed games of all kinds. I know this first-hand because I’ve known him all my life—he’s my Grandpa.
Marvin moved in to Buffalo Hill Terrace almost two years ago. As soon as he moved in, he found a group of friends with whom he regularly plays his favorite card game, Hand and Foot. And if you walk in the North Entrance and see a group of people playing a dice game called Farkle in the Café, that’s probably our family. Marvin can and will play almost any game—board games, card games, dice games, games of chance, games of strategy—that others want to play. No matter whom he’s playing with, he takes a relaxed approach. “To me games should be fun and relaxing,” he comments. “If you get all uptight about losing, don’t play.”
Family has always been central to Marvin’s love of games. When he was growing up, he played games with his mother, Hilda, and his whole family of four would play canasta at Christmas time. His Passions Project photo shows him playing chess, one of his favorites. His older brother, Merlyn, taught him to play the game and was his most common opponent when they were growing up. Eventually, Marvin got good enough that he could beat Merlyn at a game or two, but it didn’t happen often!
That was okay, though, because winning has never been what Marvin likes most about playing chess. He enjoys formulating a strategy, including a plan of attack and a defense at the same time. He doesn’t memorize move sequences the way some players do. Instead, he takes it one move a time—and one game at a time. “Every game’s different to me,” he says. “It depends on what your opponent does.”
Marvin was born in Wisconsin and, when he was growing up, his family lived in a variety of states including New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Texas. After graduating with his engineering degree, Marvin took a job at Boeing and moved to Wichita, Kansas. He soon met Shirley, the love of his life. The couple dated for one summer. Then, Shirley went back to college. While she was away, he wrote her one letter. It must have been a good letter, because they became engaged almost as soon as she came back to Wichita the next summer and married that August. They went on to have six children (one passed away as a young child), three of whom now live in Northwest Montana.
Marvin moved to Kalispell in 2013 to live with his second daughter, Carla (I call her Mom). In 2017, he moved into Buffalo Hill Terrace. He loves living here, where he has a lot of friends and game-playing buddies. And next week, his two children who don’t live nearby will be coming to visit along with their spouses and some of their kids (Marvin’s grandkids, my cousins). I know he’s looking forward to it, and I’m sure we’ll be playing some games!
