Don Schnake personified grace, humility

Don Schnake was a man of big accomplishments with little flair or fanfare.

He played for one of the state's biggest coaching legends in Arthur L. Trout at downstate Centralia and started for a state runner-up in basketball. He served in the Marines and played for Bradley's 1949-50 basketball team that took second in the NIT and NCAA tournaments.

Schnake became a teacher and coach and came north in 1966 to Elk Grove to build one of the Mid-Suburban League's top football programs with a mythical state championship in 1972. In retirement he wrote three books.

All of it was done with grace and humility that personified Schnake, who died Thursday morning at 82 from lung cancer.

"He was always a gentleman and very respected," said Britt Farroh, one of Schnake's assistants during his tenure at Elk Grove where he had a record of 100-74-1 from 1968-87.

"Once you got to know him, you knew he had an even-keel nature about him and people appreciated that," said Brendan Flynn, who was Schnake's defensive coordinator at Elk Grove and a friend for more than 50 years. "He was a really good listener and paid attention. He was a loyal guy who tried to do the right thing."

Those roots were formed from watching Dike Eddleman, who was arguably one of the greatest athletes produced in the state. He then played for Trout, who won 810 basketball games and three state titles in 37 years and 153 football games in 26 years.

Schnake's reverence for his coach was evidenced in his 1992 biography "Trout: The Old Man and The Orphans," about the man who held the boys state basketball coaching record for victories for more than 40 years.

In turn, Schnake filled a similar role for Elk Grove's Ken Grams, who is currently second in state history for career softball wins with 713.

"Anything I've ever done professionally, he's been the biggest influence in my life," said Grams, who has been the public address announcer for every Elk Grove home football game since the school started varsity competition in 1967. "He was just a remarkable man.

"I appreciated and learned by being around him that he had a great feeling for what was happening around him."

Schnake had three-year stints as an assistant at Charleston and Aledo before going to Vandalia, where he met Flynn. He was 29-34 in seven years as head football coach - but 9-0 and 8-1 in his last two years - and also was a head coach in basketball, baseball and track and served as athletic director there.

Flynn, who was urged to pursue his future wife Jane by Schnake at Vandalia, had moved up to Arlington and mentioned the opportunities at Elk Grove in 1966.

After a year as an assistant to Dick Mudge, Schnake took over as Elk Grove's head coach in 1968 and Flynn came over to run the defense.

"They worked so well together," Farroh said.

"Don and I were just on the same page," Flynn said. "We had a formula and it was great defense, be sound in every phase of the kicking game and run the football."

It worked to perfection in 1972 when the Grens went 9-0 and won a second consecutive MSL Super Bowl behind standout quarterback Jeff Stewart. This was two years before the state playoffs started, so they were awarded the final No. 1 ranking by the media.

"He provided a complete identity to the community," said Rick Doering, who was a junior reserve offensive lineman in 1972 and started as a senior. "On Friday nights what you did in Elk Grove was you went to the football game.

"He was almost like (former Vikings coach) Bud Grant at the time. He was just a simple guy and he always downplayed everything. That was his upbringing."

Doering, Grams, Flynn and Farroh laughed about Schnake's old-school belief where three things could happen when you threw the football and two were bad.

They recalled times where Schnake would call the same running play as many as 13 straight times - and it worked time after time.

"It was basic football," Doering said, "but it was coached to excellence."

Schnake is survived by his wife, Marilyn, his sons Lew and Logan and daughters Lynn and Leann. Visitation will be from 3-9 p.m. Thursday at Grove Memorial Chapel in Elk Grove. The funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Christus Victor Lutheran Church in Elk Grove.