Oliver Schnellinger, you will be missed

San Marcos mourns the loss of an amazing man, Oliver Sascha Schnellinger. Entering the world on August 5, 1969 and departing on May 8, 2019. Oliver was a man of many, many words and he used those words generously. In spite of this, his beginning is a little bit of a mystery to those who have come to love him during the last 15 years. He may have been in the witness protection program, undercover cop, or maybe he was a spy? Who knows? What’s for certain is that where he came from is in no way as relevant as where he ended up. He lived the rest of his life here in San Marcos, and that is exactly where he belonged.

Oliver was a profound force of nature. Larger than life. He would fill a room with just his voice but, he won the room with his laughter.He subscribed to his own set of rules. He made and defined these rules and he was staunch about his diligence to honoring said rules. 

Oliver’s rules to living his life were simple and finite; eloquent and oddly poetic. There has never been another like Ollie, and there never will be again. Men like Oliver come around only once in a lifetime. 

Oliver’s rules to living his life are as follows:

• Choose your family on your own and love them wholly and unconditionally. 
• Protect your family without reservation or equivocation.
• Don’t suffer a salad when you can enjoy a cheeseburger… or two.
• Be kind to the voice on the other side of the drive through menu because, no matter what, everyone deserves tolerance and respect.
• Never ever get rid of a key. Carry every single one you’ve ever possessed on a very large and cumbersome key ring. Whether or not the lock exists is irrelevant. 
• Never waste an opportunity to say “hello” and never say goodbye without saying “I love you.”
• If someone needs you, be there, no matter the time or the task.
• Be a straight shooter, there isn’t enough time in the day for the nonsense of insincerity. 
• Wear shorts every single day regardless of the weather. 
• Do not wear sandals in the summer. Or ever.
• Don’t lie. Don’t cheat. Don’t take what isn’t yours. 
• Remind every woman she is eternally beautiful and make sure knows you mean it.
• Be the friend you would want to have but, then kick it up a notch. Be a little better than you what you would require for yourself. 
• Share what you have, no matter how hard you worked to get it. 
• Give real big giant hugs with both arms and a squeeze, not the worthless side hugs that are so popular these days. 
• Be someone you can be proud of.

Oliver was a teller of tall tales and terrible jokes. He worked hard and played hard. He laughed hard and often. He was a keeper of delicate secrets and a giver of endless affection. Oliver was generous behind reason and logic. If you were cold and he had a coat, you walked away with a new coat whether you wanted it or not. He was a faithful and honest friend. He lived and loved without fear or hesitation. He was a man any parent would be honored to call their son. He was definitely someone he, himself, could be proud of. 

Goodnight Sunshine, you are terribly missed.