SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — After a life well lived, Ty Schurtz died Aug. 22 at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Mo., just 12 days past his 99th birthday.
He was born in Braman, Okla. on Aug. 10, 1913, to Anna (Grell) and Jesse Shurtz. By 1933, he had graduated from Braman High School and Northern Oklahoma Jr. College in Tonkawa. Always a baseball fan, he also played the game. At his best, Ty was an “ace” catcher for semi-pro baseball team, the Blackwell, Okla. B & B Oilers in the late ’30s and early ’40s. He served in Army ordnance during World War II, returned to work as an oilfield  lease operator for DX Sunray, Sun Oil, and Kerr-McGee, retiring in 1978 after 45 years. In 1937, he married Viola “Billie” Noll in Crown Point, Ind., while on their way to Chicago for a Yankee/White Sox game. They returned to Chicago for games between the Yankees and Cubs during the 1938 World Series. Ty and Billie were married for 63 years. During those years together, they were avid sports fans. Having moved to Springfield after retirement to be closer to their son’s family, they attended all their grandsons’ football games, basketball games, and track meets, both home and away. They also attended Kickapoo Legion baseball games, MSU football and both men’s and women’s basketball games for years. Ty loved fishing and giving his opinions about his favorite teams, the New York Yankees and the Oklahoma Sooners football team. The last several years, he’d become quite the two-stepping dancer going to three or four dances every week, and even attending Western swing dance festivals in Wagoner, Okla.
He was preceded in death by his parents, wife, and sisters Etta Van Hoy, Eileen Gillham, and Ann Spore. He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Mort and Jane Shurtz of Springfield, Mo.; grandsons Jay Shurtz and fiancé Rachelle Hyder of Vail, Colo. and Matt Shurtz and wife Krista of Springfield, Mo.; great-grandchildren, Tyrus and Ava Shurtz of Springfield, Mo.; sisters Wilda Rice and June Chapek, both of Wichita, and Delores Hornsby of Falfurrias, Texas; a special cousin, Orvan Grell and wife Phyllis of Braman, Okla.; and a great many nieces, nephews, and friends.
Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 27, at Gorman-Scharpf funeral home in Springfield, Mo. Ty will be buried at noon on Tuesday in  Braman, Okla. Visitation will be from 3 to 4 p.m. on Sunday at the funeral home. Because he spent so many happy hours there, the family requests memorial contributions be made to: Southside Senior Center, 2215 S. Fremont St., Springfield, MO 65804, attn: Ty Shurtz Memorial.

Funeral arrangements provided by
Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home, Inc.**
1947 E. Seminole
Springfield, MO  65804
Greata Bend (Kan.) Tribune, Aug. 24, 2012