Los Angeles
County
Biographies
CARL F. SCHULTHEIS
The
conscientious father of a family of sons, as well as an astute businessman,
Carl F. Schultheis is the president of John White Interiors, the first store in
Alhambra to specialize in maple and provincial furniture.
A
native of Pennsylvania and the son of native Pennsylvanians, Mr. Schultheis was born on August 10, 1914, in Pittsburgh, one of the three
children of Carl August Ferdinand Schultheis, a railroad worker, and Mrs.
Schultheis, the former Miss Gertrude Dorothea Frederick, a distant relative of
Kaiser Wilhelm.
Mr.
Schultheis received his elementary education in Pittsburgh and graduated from
Allegheny High School there. While doing
post graduate work in cabinet making at Connelly Trade School he also worked
for F. J. Kress Box Company as a box designer.
A graduate of Southwestern University in Los Angeles in 1942, Mr.
Schultheis received his degree in accounting.
Arriving
in California in 1935, Mr. Schultheis began laying a broad foundation of
experience on which to base his subsequent ownership of John White
Interiors. For two years he worked in
the credit department of the Eastern Columbia Outfitting Company in Los
Angeles; from 1936 – 1940 he was a general ledger bookkeeper for Colyear Motor Sales Company; for the next three years he
was with the Lane Wells Company as assistant office manager; and in 1943 and
1944 he worked as comptroller for Western Arc Welding, Inc.
An
Alhambra resident since 1940 Mr. Schultheis bought a partnership in 1949 in the
John White Maple Shop which had been opened at 1010 West Main Street, Alhambra,
in 1943, and which is still at the same address. In 1958 Mr. Schultheis became president of
the firm, and it was incorporated as John White Interiors. It is now one of the largest and most popular
stores of its type in the area. The firm
has been represented at home and furniture shows.
Mr.
Schultheis has served on the board of directors of the Furniture Retail
Association for six years, and is now also serving as a member of its advisory
board. He is also a member of the board
of directors of the magazine “Furniture Field”, and is a member of the Alhambra
Chamber of Commerce. For the past three
years he has been taking courses in interior decorating sponsored by the
Furniture Retail Association, and will receive the American Institute of
Decorators degree, upon application to the society.
Carl
F. Schultheis and the former Miss Ruth Dorothy Tietz
were married on October 20, 1935, in Grace Lutheran Church in Los Angeles. Mrs. Schultheis is now the
secretary-treasurer of John White Interiors and also employed at the San Marino
School District administration offices.
The
parents of three sons, all of whom became Eagle Scouts, Mr. and Mrs. Schultheis
have also been active in church work and are members of the First Lutheran
Church of Alhambra. Mr. Schultheis has
served on numerous church committees and is a member of the Lutheran Laymen’s
group. Mrs. Schultheis has served as
president of several church women’s groups.
Deeply
interested in young people, Mr. Schultheis was one of the original backers of
the Fremont Youth Center and has long been active in Boy Scout work, helping in
Troop Number 216 in Alhambra.
A
member of Alhambra Kiwanis Club for ten years, with nine years of perfect
attendance, Mr. Schultheis is a past member of its board of directors. He is also a member of the Young Men’s
Christian Association and has been an active campaign worker in the Republican
Party.
The
eldest of the three Schultheis sons is David Carl, who was born in 1940,
attended Fremont School and Alhambra High School, and is a graduate of San Marino
High School. His education at Occidental
College was interrupted by service with the National Guard; he is now
associated with his father’s business and is finishing college. Paul Fredrick, born in 1943, attended Fremont
School, Huntington School, and is a graduate of San Marino High School; he is
presently attending Los Angeles State College and for two summers travelled the
eastern states “caravanning” with the Walther League of the Lutheran Church
advising church youth groups and helping in their organization. Thomas Kenneth, born in 1946, has received all
of his schooling in San Marino and is presently attending San Marino High
School.
Mr.
Schultheis prefers bowling for relaxation but also enjoys golf. He has never lost his early love for
woodworking and has a complete woodworking shop at his home; he is also a stamp
collector.
Transcribed by
V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
Historical Volume & Reference Works Including Alhambra, Monterey Park,
Rosemead, San Gabriel & Temple City, by Robert P. Studer,
Pages 809-811, Historical Publ., Los Angeles, California. 1962.
© 2013 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
GOLDEN
NUGGET'S LOS ANGELES BIOGRAPHIES