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MASON— Drawing crowds is nothing new for Fr. Dan. Schuh.

People started lining up Tuesday, Nov. 18 at St. Susanna's Church long before the 5 p.m. start of the visitation hours for Fr. Dan Schuh, who died Nov. 14 after a year-long battle with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.

"He gathered people," said Sharon Hill, a long-time St. Susanna parishioner as she prepared to go back inside to help with crowd control. "Anytime there was an issue, he would gather the people together and say, 'How can we solve this?' or 'What can we do'? After the first time he spoke to us, he went up the aisle, greeting everyone he passed with a handshake. You knew right away that he was special."

"He had the best smile"

Two lines snaked around the vestibule as hundreds of people squeezed inside to get out of the cold. Even as the lines moved forward, they didn't seem to get any shorter as a steady stream of mourners continued to file in. A number of easels with photo collages were set up at various spots along the line for people to look at and reflect on the life of the man who continued to serve his faith community even after his diagnosis in April 2007.

Leaning up against a wall next to one of the easels were messages of condolence from students attending St. Susanna's school. One of the messages summed up the photos perfectly. It said "Father Dan had the best smile" and had a hand-drawn picture of him showing off his famous smile. It served as a reminder of one of the many blessings he brought to the church.

Special Gifts

Hill added that another special gift that Fr. Dan brought to St. Susanna was the fact that he lived such a full life. "He is one of the few people who actually received all seven sacraments," she said. "He brought those experiences to us and it made him unique." In November 1992, Schuh's wife, Gail, died from complications of Hodgkin's Disease. After entering the seminary in August 1997, Schuh was ordained May 23, 2003, becoming a priest who had married, raised his own children and was a grandfather. Each of his grandchildren created a teddy bear to sit beside their grandfather's casket, and gave one to him. They all chose two hearts to go with the bears, one for the bear and one for the love shared between them and their grandfather. After the funeral services on Wednesday, all of the bears but one will be taken home by the children to keep.

Visitation for Fr. J. Daniel Shuh was held Tuesday, Nov. 18, at St. Susanna. Fr. Dan's body will lie in state until 10:00 a.m. today, Nov. 19. The church will remain open so that those who wish to pray and pay their respects may do so. At 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19, the church will be closed to all but family. The church will reopen at 11:00 a.m. for Mass of Christian Burial. All are invited to attend.

Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4542 or mrossiter@coxohio.com.