Saul “Sonny” Schwartz from Morganville passed away Jan. 7, 2022. Sonny was 83 years old and is survived by the love of his life Arlene Schwartz, with whom he would have been married for 60 years this February.
Sonny and Arlene had three daughters, Susie, Sheryl and Sharon, and six grandchildren, Sydney, Skylar, Sam, Sawyer, Shane and Stevie (all of whom were named with S’s after Sonny). Sonny is also survived by his brother Jay and sister Michele and many more extended family and friends who loved and admired him.
Sonny lived an amazingly full life. He was born in Coney Island, Brooklyn in 1938 to a family of modest means and, after studying architecture at CCNY, he left school to work with his father at their family-owned Gulf gas station, which soon turned into three parking garages in Manhattan.
Through sheer determination, willpower and force of personality, Sonny grew those three garages into SPS Management Group, creating his own independent parking company. He later sold his company to Kinney Parking Systems and became president of the largest public parking company on the East Coast.
Upon his retirement, Sonny pursued his true passion, becoming a farmer and raising exotic animals. Sonny was proud to be a Jewish cowboy from Brooklyn and dreamed of one day owning a 1,000-acre cattle ranch in Montana. He would say, “If Ted Turner could do it, why can’t I?”
Sonny also loved collecting antique cars and Lionel trains. Over the years he developed a collection that would rival any museum in the country.
While Sonny was a tough guy on the outside and didn’t suffer fools gladly, he was a big-hearted, loving man on the inside. His love for Arlene knew no bounds. Similarly, his love for his grandkids was quite special. There is nothing that Sonny enjoyed more than taking his grandchildren to the farm and teaching them about the animals or how to operate a tractor or a backhoe.
He also instilled in his entire family his love of travel and exploring the world. Sonny claimed to have been to nearly every country in the world. He would take his children and grandchildren on trips around the country and around the world, loving to explore, see the sites and experience new cultures and new locales.
Sonny’s idol was Don Quixote and he lived his life as a man who was always exploring and fighting the windmills. His farm was called the “Impossible Dream” and his life was an example of what one could accomplish by never giving up, never giving in, being true to yourself and your convictions (and being just a bit crazy).
We love him and will miss him dearly.
The article originally appeared in the January 13 – 19, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
