Palatine man killed in accident

A lifelong Palatine resident had died doing something that he loved.

Ron Schellhase, 39, was killed Wednesday night while snowmobiling in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Around 5 p.m., he was riding a 2007 Arctic Cat snowmobile and ran off the trail and hit a tree, according to the sheriff's office in Keweenaw County. Schellhase was third in a group of four snowmobilers on the trail.

His brother Russ said Schellhase had gone out of state with some friends.

"They took some time off and just wanted to have some fun," he said.

Schellhase recently returned from a Habitat for Humanity project in New Orleans. Besides snowmobiling, he was an avid soccer player and worked with computers.

"He was such a good person," said his brother. "He loved his family very much and he had a niece and a nephew that he just adored."

Schellhase went to Fremd High School, where he played football and wrestled.

For the past 15 years, he's been playing soccer and most recently played with the Oak Park Tricycles, an amateur club.

The accident remains under investigation in Michigan.

In addition to his brother, Schellhase leaves behind his parents, Richard and Judy.

Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Sunday at Smith-Corcoran Funeral Home, 185 E. Northwest Hwy., Palatine. Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Habitat for Humanity, 121 Habitat St., Americus, Ga., 31709-3498.