Captain David Sheppard Schools, 77, of Rocky Point, NC passed away peacefully in the early hours of February 27, in Wilmington, NC after a brief stay at the Lower Cape Fear LifeCare Hospice Center.

David was born on June 12, 1946 in Linthicum, MD to Straughn Sylvester Schools and Florence Mae Sheppard Schools.

David is survived by his wife of fifty-seven years Margaret Ann Freeman Schools, daughters Dawn-Michelle Schools Oliver (Shannon), and Elizabeth Ann Schools Leggett (Diarra), sons Dallas Straughn Schools (Susan Lamy), and Rhett Sheppard Schools (Gai), grandson Ivan Ulysses Leggett, and sister Grace Virginia Jeffrey.

David was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Edward Schools and Robert Schools, sisters Olive Mae McHugh, Myrtle Briggerman, Betty Jane Phillips, and Brenda Lee Schools.

David led an adventurous and unconventional life on the sea that took him all over the world. He served in the US Coast Guard from 1963-1973, which included one tour in Vietnam on the USCG cutter Bering Strait, and tours to the Arctic and the Antarctic on the icebreaker Edisto.

He worked out of Alaska on fishing vessels and tugs from 1973 to 1980. On January 11, 1975, he and five other crew members survived the wreck of the tug David Foss that flooded from the stern and sank near Cape Kasilof in Cook Inlet, AK. From 1980 to 1998, he captained supply ships and tugs tending oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico,Venezuela, Chili, Nigeria, Egypt, Sicily, India, Indonesia, and Russia. On May 25, 1998, David and his crew were taken hostage and brought ashore on the coast of Nigeria. With a cool head and quick wit, David kept his crew together until they were rescued seven days later. From 1998 to 2003, David captained ocean-going tugs along the east coast from the Caribbean to New England.

In retirement, David proudly became a member of King Solomon Lodge 138 in Burgaw, NC, the Pender County Shrine Club, and the Cape Fear Valley Scottish Rite, all of which provided him new sources of purpose and friendship. His life of travel and adventure supplied him with endless stories, which he told with flair and humor, to the delight of family and friends. He was an avid reader, and had a green thumb. He enjoyed music, dancing, movies, cooking, knotwork, jigsaw puzzles, bird watching, and the company of his devoted dog Rita. Above all, David loved his family, and was dearly cherished by them in return.

The funeral services will take place on Saturday, March 2, at 1:00 pm at Quinn McGowen Funeral Home in Burgaw, NC. A reception with light refreshments will follow at the Pender County Shrine Club. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made instead to the Shriners Hospitals for Children www.shrinerschildrens.org, or the charity of your choice.

Shared memories and condolences may be sent to the family by selecting Tribute Wall.

Quinn-McGowen Funeral Home of Burgaw.