R.I.P. Stu Schneider
/It is with profound and deep sadness that word comes of Stu Schneider's passing. In recent years Stu was a major contributor to Golf World, bringing new life to the magazine with his humorous and always thorough TV-Rewind column as well as through his epic one-liners in the magazine's "Front Nine." I know many people kept their subscriptions just for the laughs Stu brought them each week.
On a personal note, Stu was one of the first people to give me a chance in the writing world when he hired me while he was the editor at Golfweb. He was also tremendously influential in my recent writing work, particularly this blog. You may also recall that Stu was the first subject of an instant message interview here. And for me, though I hadn't actually talked to Stu on the phone in a couple of years or seen him in even longer, we "talked" almost daily via instant message. I leaned on Stu for his thoughts on whether I'd gone over the top with a post, and I'd like to think on occasion that a few of our always enjoyable exchanges inspired a few of his lines.
In recent weeks he'd suffered a relapse of the colitis bout he'd had over the holidays. During The Players Championship he was not online and I later learned from him that he pretty much watched the entire thing in the hospital and filed his column from bed. He did it for his family. I can't tell you how many times he had to cut short an IM conversation for "the best part of the day." Putting the kids to bed.
Having not seen him online the last few days I grew concerned and learned of the sad news from his editor and dear friend Geoff Russell, who he thought the world of and to whom he was incredibly loyal and grateful for giving Stu an opportunity to bring an edge to the otherwise staid world of golf coverage.
He will truly be missed. And as Stu would always say at the end of an IM, cya.
