Former Girard mayor Schuyler dies
By JEANNE STARMACK
GIRARD
A former mayor who held several other prominent positions for the city died Wednesday.
Vincent “Sonny” Schuyler was 78.
Schuyler also was a police officer in Girard for 39 years and served as a captain from 1973 to 1991.
He was on the Girard Board of Education from 1976 to 1984.
He was mayor from 1992 to 2000.
He was most recently a Girard councilman-at-large, serving two terms before leaving that post in December.
He worked at Trumbull County Senior Service and was president of the St. Vincent DePaul Society.
He was active in St. Rose Church.
“Sonny was a well-known figure for many years, and he was well-liked,” said Mayor Jim Melfi.
He said that Schuyler set the foundation for a better future for the city with projects he accomplished while he was mayor.
Schuyler bought the city’s two lakes, Melfi said, and land there could be developed to increase jobs and tax revenue.
He also secured funding for the widening of U.S. Route 422 in 2004, a multimillion-dollar project.
“On a more personal note, my mother and him were neighbors growing up in the old neighborhood of Lizzy and James streets,” he added.
“He was a gentleman all the time,” he continued. “He was a good family man.”
“We’re very melancholy around here,” Melfi said.
Schuyler’s wife, Leanna, died in 2002. He is survived by a son, two daughters and three grandchildren.
Calling hours will be today from 4 to 7 p.m. at the McVean-Hughes-McClurkin Funeral Home, 222 S. State St., Girard. There will be prayers at 10 a.m. Saturday at the McClurkin Memorial Chapel before a Mass at St. Rose Church.
Mr. Schuyler’s Tribute is on Page A8.