Rupell Funeral Home

James Schulte doted on his wife and two children, coaching athletic teams, participating in school events and working around the house, his grandmother, Joanne Lambert, said today. He was always busy, she said, but they were things he loved doing."Whatever the kids wanted to try or wanted to do, he was right there to lend a hand or pitch in, whatever was needed," said Lambert, of Nazareth. "It gave the kids a chance to do whatever it was they liked to do."Schulte, a cable and line technician for Oxford Township-based FCS Inc., was working as a subcontractor for Comcast when he came in contact with a power line about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday along Cider Mill Road, according to New Jersey State Police.He was taken to Hunterdon Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead about 1:40 p.m."He was a good guy and I'm sorry that this accident happened," FCS Inc. owner Jack Frazee said today, declining to comment further.Born in Easton, Schulte graduated from Phillipsburg High School in 1997 and later attended Allentown Business School, according to his obituary. He enjoyed fishing, four-wheeling, motorcycles and was also a cheering coach with his daughter's squad with the Saucon Valley Little Panthers. "He was just a good, well-rounded kid," Lambert said.Carlene Anderson, vice president of cheerleading for the league, said Schulte's willingness to be one of the rare fathers coaching cheerleaders was just another example of his dedication to his children."He was there because that's what his daughter did and that's what his daughter loved and he came to love it too," she said.Schulte was always positive with the team and willing to help whoever was in need, she said."He was one of those people that was fun to be around," she said. "He kept the girls' spirits up and always gave positivity."Schulte leaves behind his wife, Lonnie Hocking Schulte, a daughter, Haley, and a son, Tyler.Funeral services will be held 7 p.m. Monday at the Rupell Funeral Home, 465 Memorial Parkway in Phillipsburg. A visitation...

National Football League's great centers, a member of the and a two-time world champion, in the end saw himself as just another guy from Phillipsburg. "A lot of things have happened in my life that are very surprising," Ringo told The Express-Times in 2000. "Other people look at me in a different way. They see me as a star football player, but I was no different than the average guy who goes to work. ... Who would've ever thought a kid from Phillipsburg, New Jersey would make the Hall of Fame? I'll never forget that day. That was a big trip for a small-town kid." Ringo, who moved to Phillipsburg at the age of 3 and was never forgotten in his adopted hometown, died early Monday at the age of 75. Rupell Funeral Home of Phillipsburg is handling arrangements. Click here for Paul Sokoloski's story and here for Corky Blake's local reactions. Ringo, who was shifted to center by Phillipsburg High assistant coach Willard "Whiz" Rinehard in 1947, received a football scholarship to Syracuse University in 1949 and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 1953. He fought through tough times and, once Vince Lombardi arrived, played on a pair of title teams before being traded to Philadelphia, where he closed out his career from 1964-67. He was voted to 10 Pro Bowls. He would later work as an assistant then head coach of the Buffalo Bills. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame by Rinehard and in 1993, his high school alma mater honored Ringo by naming its fieldhouse after him. "As Vince Lombardi once observed, Jim epitomized the toughness and determination needed to not only play the center position but to become one of the game's most dominant offensive linemen of his era," Hall of Fame resident/Executive Director Steve Perry said today in this short obituary. "On behalf of all of us at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I extend my heartfelt condolences to Jim's family." What do you remember about Jim Ringo? Post a comment below or join the conversation in our . And follow the "continue" link to read ...

He was among the top drivers in the area when I was still just dreaming of becoming one," Andretti said Wednesday, two days after the Harmony Township legend, known as the Belvidere Bandit, died at 84. "He was still racing when I was racing as well," Andretti, 77, added. Racer Carl Van Horn to be honored Courtesy photoCarl Van Horn Short-term phenoms, .270 hitters, flashes in the pan, mid-pack race car drivers need not apply. Seats in a hall of fame are reserved for exceptional persons boasting exceptional bodies of work. Veteran stock car driver Carl... VanHorn won more than 100 feature races during his career, which stretched from 1952 to 1994, piloting modified stock cars often numbered 71E on short tracks from Nazareth to Syracuse to Middletown, New York, and back.He even got a start in the 1975 Puralotor 500 at Pocono Raceway. He was entered via a contest that involved fans voting, according to the Pocono Record at the time. He started 17th and finished 23rd in the NASCAR race after an engine problem knocked him out on the 110th lap."You always remember the winners and that's who he was," said Andretti, a Bushkill Township resident who grew up in Nazareth. "He was always at the top fighting for the win. ... I think he was hell of a race driver. He was at the top of his game. He certainly made his mark. He was very well know around our area."Frank Varju, 51, of Bethlehem, became a fan when he was just a kid living in Easton, as his dad, also named Frank, and young Frank's boss at the 13th Street Sunoco exposed the boy to the wild racing on the region's dirt tracks.One day he got to visit Van Horn's garage in Harmony, an experience Varju still recalls with "shock and awe." He saw VanHorn race in Middletown and Nazareth. There was the night in 1979 in Syracuse when Varju watched VanHorn spin out twice in a last-chance race but still roar back to almost qualify for the feature before the engine blew. "They would go nuts for him," Varju, getting emotional at times, said by phone...