SCHAUBERT, HUNTLEY

Posted by Cathy Gowdy on Friday, February 20, 2009 at 06:31:55 :

Marin Independent Journal
Tuesday, February 18, 1997

ARVID D. SCHAUBERT
Deep sea diver

Arvid D. “Red” Schaubert had a long career as a diver, business man and general engineering contractor.

He died Feb. 14 in Novato after a long illness. He was 83.

Schaubert was born in Cripple Creek, Colo., in 1913 and grew up in Galesburg, Ill.

As a young man he played football briefly with the Chicago Bears and then became interested in deep sea diving. He developed an expertise in underwater demolition and construction. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army and was assigned to the British Navy to train and lead teams of British divers to decommission underwater minefields before D-Day at Omaha Beach. He and his teams went ahead of the Allies into France and Belgium, clearing strategic harbors for occupation.

Schaubert came to the Bay Area after the war. He owned H&S Construction Co. in Novato for 20 years.

He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Laurel V. Schaubert of Novato; a daughter, Gay Lee Huntley of Dixon; and his brother, Harold Schaubert of Nauvoo, Ill.

His daughter, Leslie May Schaubert, preceded him in death.

Memorial services will be scheduled at a later date.

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Marin Independent Journal
Friday, August 1, 1997

Novato patient’s death investigated

The Novato Police Department is investigating the death of a nursing home patient after a toxicology report showed a “lethal amount” of morphine in the man’s blood.

A spokeswoman for Pleasant Care Convalescent Hospital said no morphine was given to the man by staff members at that facility.

Arvid Schaubert, 83, died the early morning of Valentine’s Day this year at Pleasant Care Convalescent Hospital in Novato. His body was cremated after an autopsy.

In mid-May, the coroner’s office notified Novato Police they had some questions about the death.

“The victim had a lethal amount of morphine in his blood at the time of his death,” said Novato Police Sgt. Jim Laveroni.

Information on any illness Schaubert may have had was unavailable.

Toxicology test showed Schaubert’s blood contained nearly double the toxic level of morphine, according to the coroner’s office.

Pleasant Care Convalescent Hospital, 1565 Hill Road, is part of a chain of nursing home facilities called Pleasant Care, with a regional office in Stockton and headquartered in Montrose. The Novato facility was acquired in the early 1990s.

Schaubert was admitted to the Novato skilled-care facility in October 1996.

“The morphine in his system did not come from the facility,” said Karen Smith, the convalescent home administrator. “We do administer morphine but it had nothing to do with this case.”

The coroner was called into the case at the request of Schaubert’s physician, according to Smith. She declined to give his name. The Department of Health investigated the facility and found no problems, Smith said.

The corporation owns about 30 nursing homes throughout California, according to Mildred Simmons, an independent consultant for quality control.

Simmons is a nurse hired by convalescent corporations, including Pleasant Care, to evaluate their performance. She concurred that a state probe found no problems in the manner the facility cared for Schaubert.

“It is not unusual to have the coroner come if the physician has any questions about the cause of death. California has a number of reasons to call the coroner,” Simmons said.

Schaubert lived in Novato for 20 years and owned H&S Construction Co.

Attempts to contact Schaubert’s relatives were unsuccessful.

Schaubert played for a brief time with the Chicago Bears, and used his expertise as a deep sea diver to develop underwater demolition construction during the war.

He also trained teams of U.S. Army and British Navy to defuse underwater minefields before D-Day.