Lots of questions here. I guess my biggest one is, where the fuck is the family?

I completely agree.

Still... old people can be stubborn pains in the asses. My father in law was so "independent" that he wouldn't share any information with anyone. I kept trying to push for my wife to try to take over his affairs and manage his accounts, but she wouldn't do it - not that I can blame her, that's not something you can force someone to do to their parent if they're uncomfortable.

Schur had no children and his wife had died several years ago.

But it takes awhile to rack up a $1k bill.

Depends on the house and furnace. I have family who have 400 dollar a month gas bills. My last house was a 4 bedroom house build in 1920's and during the winter our gas was about 200(and we kept the house a brisk 60-64 degrees), our electric was about 200. We were very conservative with our usage and within a few months we could have easily been 1k under.

Now we are in a 2 bedroom apartment and run our furnace constantly - our last electric bill was 97 bucks (the whole apartment is electric).

My wife's grandmother is 92 and shes freaked out by cars/people/tv/ her own shadow.... I could see how someone that old would have a problem physically/mentally paying the bill. 93 is fucking old.

winter disconnection is illegal in wisconsin as well. it kind of baffles me that michigan doesn't have similar legislation, considering parts (the UP at least) have consistently harsher winters than wisconsin.

By Wayne Drash
CNN

(CNN) -- A 93-year-old World War II medic who froze to death last month in his Bay City, Michigan, home left his entire estate to a local hospital, an estate attorney told CNN Wednesday.


Martin Schur poses with his wife, Marian, in 1976. Local and state officials agree that Schur's death was avoidable.

1 of 3 The attorney would not disclose the exact amount left behind by Martin Schur. But his nephew said his uncle indicated to family members two years ago that he had saved up more than a half-million dollars over the years. Schur and his wife, Marian, who died more than a year ago, did not have any children.

"I just know at one time he said he had over $600,000 in savings," said William Walworth. "That's what he told me and my brother, and he was proud that he was able to save and build his estate up to that."

Cathy Reder, an attorney negotiating on behalf of Bay Regional Medical Center and the Schur family, said she was filing paperwork in probate court Wednesday for the court to determine the validity of the will. A hearing has been set for March 17.

Reder would not specify the amount left to the hospital, other than to say it's more than $1.

"The will leaves everything to Bay Medical Center," she said.

The hospital had no immediate comment.

Walworth said his uncle was a frugal man who hadn't eaten at a restaurant for over 30 years. "He was very tight, and he was very frugal. But he did manage to save a lot of money."

He said it's possible his uncle's estate could be less than $600,000, but he believes it's still "sizable."

"Knowing my uncle, that's him," Walworth said. "He loved his community. He loved Bay City, Michigan."

He added, "Hopefully his death is not in vain and we can learn from this, and he's still able to save lives. ... He was a very unique, special person in my life. I'm proud of what he was able to do in his life."

He said he hopes his uncle's message will spur others to "look out for their neighbor."

The size of the estate -- if it's as large as the nephew believes -- adds another tragic twist to Schur's death. The power company limited his electricity because he owed about $1,000. Watch neighbor say the death is "unforgivable" »

Schur's death last month shocked Bay City, a town of about 37,000 on Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay.

The World War II veteran's frozen body was found in his home January 17, just four days after a device that regulates how much power he uses -- installed because of failure to pay -- shut off his power. A medical examiner said the temperature was 32 degrees in the house when Schur's body was found.

The medical examiner told The Bay City Times that Schur died a "slow, painful death." "It's not easy to die from hypothermia without first realizing your fingers and toes feel like they're burning," Dr. Kanu Virani told the paper.

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The Michigan State Police launched an investigation into Schur's death for possible criminal violations. "We have to do everything we can to make sure this doesn't happen again, whether it's Bay City or in any one of the cold weather states," Bay City Mayor Charles Brunner said last week.

The death has prompted a review of Bay City Electric Light & Power's rules and procedures for limiting or cutting off power. It also resulted in Bay City residents protesting Monday to the city about its handling of the whole situation.

A neighbor who lives down the street called Schur's death "unforgivable."

"This can't be allowed to happen in this country," said Jerome Anderson.

Walworth said he believes his uncle's death was "preventable."

"It should never have happened. It's a tragic loss," he said. "I had a lot of fond memories of my uncle, and that's the type of memory I don't want to have: Him freezing to death."

Utility officials said Schur owed about $1,000 resulting in a "limiter" being put on his home. Limiters are devices that cut power as a warning for people who haven't paid their bills. Limiters can be reset to restore a lesser degree of power until a bill payment is worked out. In Schur's case, the limiter was never reset, and it's unclear whether he knew how to do that.

Schur had been living alone since his wife died, Walworth said.

Unlike private utilities regulated by the state, Bay City runs and oversees its own utilities and therefore doesn't fall under Michigan's public service commission. By law, Michigan requires private companies to prohibit cutting off service to senior citizens between November and April. Seniors must register for the program.

The city has begun questioning whether its rules and procedures for limiting or cutting off power need a major overhaul. The utility has stopped its practice of cutting power to customers who don't pay their bills.

The utility also has removed all "limiters" on homes.


Walworth said someone should have looked at Schur's payment history and made direct contact to see whether something was wrong. He's hoping the nation will learn from his uncle's death.

"Hopefully, some good can come out of this. I'm still an optimist."

"I've said this before and some of my colleagues have said this: Neighbors need to keep an eye on neighbors," Belleman said. "When they think there's something wrong, they should contact the appropriate agency or city department."

Either way, though, I have to ask what the electric company should do when someone stops paying his bill. I mean, if you know it's not going to get cut off if you don't pay, then what's to prevent people from just...stopping payment? Why pay at all?

Tell me. really, just at WHAT point, does the compoany have the right to say "OKay. enough is enough. We're stopping!"

Asking businesses to think about what's right and wrong while doing business sucks! Money > all! Let them die if they don't pay!

""Unlike private utilities regulated by the state, Bay City runs and oversees its own utilities and therefore doesn't fall under Michigan's public service commission. By law, Michigan requires private companies to prohibit cutting off service to senior citizens between November and April. Seniors must register for the program."

Man who froze left $600K
to hospital
Man owed $1,000 to utility company
Last Edited: Thursday, 05 Feb 2009, 9:42 AM EST
Created On: Thursday, 05 Feb 2009, 8:12 AM EST

BAY CITY, Mich. (AP) -- - The 93-year-old man who froze to death while owing about $1,000 to the utility that restricted his
elecricity usage left an estimated $600,000 to a Bay City hospital.

Marvin Schur's attorney, Cathy Reder, tells the Detroit Free Press that the World War II veteran bequeathed his entire fortune to Bay Medical Center.

Schur's frozen body was found Jan. 17, four days after Bay City Electric Light & Power installed a device on his electric meter that cuts power after a predetermined level is reached.

State regulators on Wednesday issued emergency rules designed to protect more people against electricity or heat shutoffs in the winter.

Walworth tells the Free Press that his uncle retired from a tool and die factory in his early 50s. Neither he nor Reder knew why Schur left his fortune to Bay Medical Center.

People, linerals especailly, would be SCREAMING if this had happened during the heat of the summer too, if the guy had died of heat stroke. This could have happend at ANY time of the year, and bleeding hearts would be looking tot he ppower company and complaining, regardless of the man's culpability, age or not.

Have you taken an action that you have a very good idea will end in the death of someone? The company can "say no" when their actions do not kill people.

Uh, no....the end result doesn't indicate the knowledge or state of mind of the business.

I honestly don't know how you protect a population that has the rights of an adult but may not have the full capacity of an adult any longer

"A lot of stupid shit."

This may be a wake up call for the country. These stories or similar will probably become more frequent as our population ages. How do we fix it?

It is illegal here as well to turn off power in the winter.

I am surprised the family don't turn around and sue the power company over this, it looks like there is a good case for this.

The old fart most likely had something wrong with him that he could not call someone for help.

While we're talkin about circumstantials, the family may not have known how far he had gone in terms of being "out of it".