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Paul Albert Skrzypek Date of Birth: July 11, 1964 A few thoughts on a great man and a great friend: A few years back, Nike had a catch phrase, “Just Do It”. I am sure most of us remember it. Just do it – that was Paul. Paul fit well with New York. The only thing that he would sit still for were New York sporting events. He was an excellent athlete who was competitive in all phases of his life. Paul did not wait for life to come to him, he charged towards life. He loved Lacrosse as well as other sports. He played Lacrosse up until a few years ago. He gave it up because he was a competitive athlete. He did not like to see himself losing to people he knew he could beat if he had his A game going. Paul did not sit around his apartment and wait for people to call him. If there was time in the day available, Paul was out rollerblading or biking or going to the gym. He worked hard when it was time to work but when work was over for the day, he was moving onto the next activity. A fair amount of Paul’s friends got married as time has gone by, but that did not stop Paul. For every friend that found true love and marriage, Paul made two more friends that had the free time that he enjoyed so much. Paul traveled the world. He ran with the bulls in Spain. He lived two lifetimes in 37 years. Since high school Paul has dated his share of nice women. Some dates developed into relationships that lasted longer periods of time, but never marriage. Paul was certainly open to marriage but he had a certain concept of marriage that involved what he thought was the “perfect relationship.” Paul sought the relationship he saw in his parents and those are very hard to come by. That did not stop Paul from trying, a lot. Paul was loyal friend. Whether you got along with Paul or not, you knew where he stood. Paul was the type of person that would go out of his way to help a friend. He just did it. When Paul knew of a friend that had work to be done, he volunteered to come over and do it. He would help until the job was done. He didn’t talk about whether he was going to do it, he just did it. He was all about action. As far as plans for the weekend, and plans for each evening of every day of every week, Paul had them. There were not many nights that Paul sat home idle. Paul would have plans and then he would have back up plans and sometimes he had plans to back up plans. It was almost like he had an innate crystal ball. This past summer, Paul was a member of two beach houses at the same time. If you ever went out with Paul you almost had to wear running shoes because if you went some place that was not moving Paul had another place to go, and you need to be ready. Paul loved his family very very much. Paul love little kids. Paul deeply understood the values of marriage and of commitment, and took it very seriously. That is the primary reason he never got married. He was looking for someone to be with forever and knew that decision was not to be made without great care and thought. In some ways, this is one of the only areas in his life where Paul did not move swiftly and assuredly. There is a song out there that is fairly recent and the words to the book of the song go “I will remember you, will you remember me – Don’t let your life pass you by…” Paul did not let his life pass by. Paul lived every inch of his life fully. Paul’s life was an example that speaks for itself. If someone needs a favor, help them. If you are sitting around not doing anything constructive, get up and do something. If there is something you need to do, but have been putting it off, it is time to get done. Paul remembers all of us. Remember Paul James Schuette, Jr.
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Mr and Mrs Skrzypek, I have never met you but I wanted to tell you that I miss Paul very much. Paul and I met in 1990 when he was my floor clerk on the NYMEX. Paul and I immediately became friends and spent many nights together in NYC as well as trips to the Jersey shore. Paul was full of life. I followed Paul through his career as a broker from the exchange floor to the electricty swaps desks. Paul excelled in his role as a broker and was one of the best I ever dealt with in my career. But mostly, Paul was a true friend. He was one that would stand up for you and defend you at any time. I will miss him and not a day goes by that I don’t hear his infectious laugh.