[SJDXA] KV4FZ SK

[Ross Lambert]

Herbert L. Schoenbohm, KV4FZ SK

[image: [IMG]]

Activist, Communicator Herb Schoenbohm Dies at 84 by Don Buchanan - May 3,
2020

Herb Schoenbohm who, since his arrival on St. Croix in 1968, was a
Republican activist, weather prognosticator, both a radio personality and
radio installer and so much more died Wednesday, April 29, in his bed at
home with his wife Monika on the east end of St. Croix. He was 84.

“He went peacefully,” his eldest son, Chris, told the Source.

His presence on the island was felt across a broad spectrum of fields for
the next 50 years. He was active in radio – ham radio and public stations
like Radio One and Paradise Radio; politics – he was accused of making the
local Republican Party his own party; communications – he worked for many
years with the police department installing radios in its vehicles; and
weather prediction – he had a degree from the University of Minnesota with
a major in geography with an emphasis on political geography and
climatology.

He was “an amazing father,” Chris said Saturday.

Schoenbohm’s other surviving sons are Eric, Tim, Kevin and Thomas.

Monika, Schoenbohm’s wife of 52 years, told the Source that when he was
young Schoenbohm dreamed of playing football. But when he was 15, he was on
a roof in Rock Islands, Illinois installing an antenna when he lost his
footing and fell two stories, breaking broke both legs and an arm and
ending up in a coma. A doctor told the family he probably would not make
it. An intern from Brazil was not ready to give up. He put a ball in
Schoenbohm’s hand and encouraged him to squeeze it. Schoenbohm recovered,
and though his dream of playing football was gone he took from the intern
an interest in all things Brazil. His interest in Brazilian music became
almost an obsession. He became part of band playing Brazilian, Cuban and
Latin music.

When he settled on St. Croix, he played a regular gig on the piano at the
Buccaneer Hotel for several years. He also played other clubs.

The experience might have affected another choice Schoenbohm made. His
father was one of the founders of Camp Courage – a camp to help handicap
children. Schoenbohm spent the summers in his late teens teaching a program
he initiated – Handi Ham. He taught clients that no matter their disability
they could become ham radio operators.

His skills as a ham radio operator also helped when he was a sometime
weatherman. Monika said he would often contact hams on other islands to see
what their weather was. This was extremely helpful in the days before
satellites and the internet in predicting hurricanes. The 13th Legislature
honored him in 1980 for the service he helped provide during hurricanes
Frederick and David. In 1990 he received the Governor’s Medal and was
declared a “Hero of Hurricane Hugo” for maintaining communications circuits.

Monika said he was also busy during Hugo rescuing people in his police car,
which had a flat tire.

Schoenbohm worked for the V.I. Police Department from 1978 to 1992 as a
communication specialist. He worked from 1996 to 2012 as fleet manager for
Property and Procurement.

In recent years Schoenbohm was often in the news for his involvement with
the local Republican Party. He was chosen often to represent the Virgin
Islands at the Republican National Convention. He also served four terms as
the State Chairman of the V.I. Republican Party.

In 2016 two groups were fighting for control of the local party. John
Canegata, leading one faction, called the other faction the Herb Schoenbohm
party.

Schoenbohm held strong views. This writer debated him several times about
global climate change. He denied man was causing the climate to change. But
though neither ever convinced the other, the debates never descended into
name calling.

Former Sen. Clarence Payne also had many debates with Schoenbohm.

“I found him to be respectable in debates, which as an opponent I
appreciated in this climate of vitriol and confrontation,” Payne said.
“Herb stood his ground but allowed one to freely share a differing
viewpoint.”

Roger Morgan, who ran Paradise Radio station and had a popular morning show
in the early part of this century, said when he heard the news of
Schoenbohm’s death, “Herb was my official engineer for my Paradise Radio
station, WVVI on St. Croix. But, more than that, he was a friend and a
genuine wizard at dealing with broadcast engineering solutions in an
environment where sheer ingenuity often replaced more traditional solutions
to emergencies that occur with frustrating regularity. I’ll miss my friend
and Republican leader.”

In the early ‘90s, Schoenbohm worked for several years as a staff aid for
Delegate to Congress Victor Frazer in the U.S. House of Representatives
104th Congress. He also worked several years as an engineer for Ackley
Communications.

His sons, each in their own way, have followed in their father’s footsteps
by going into careers involving communication technology. However, the
greatest lesson Chris said he learned from his father was, “Always help
people when you can.”

https://stthomassource.com/content/2020/05/03/activist-communicator-herb-schoenbohm-dies-at-84/
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