Ugliness He Saw Inspired Empathy in Writing, Life

As Schutz's fiction progressed, he took time to encourage aspiring writers, and he became "the go-to guy for forensic psychology," Grady said. While Schutz crafted his dark characters, he would talk to people in similar situations to avoid cliches and "get a real sense of their humanity," Grady said.

The people Schutz discovered "were not who he expected to find," Grady said. "And this is a psychologist speaking. This is a man who understands abuse of body, mind and spirit far beyond most. He wanted to write his fiction to reflect the reality that was out there."

Schutz's reality included close bonds with his sons, said the younger of the two, Jesse Lindenberger-Schutz, 29, who works for a mutual fund in Manhattan and does representational oil paintings. "He always wanted my brother and I to know that we could talk to him about anything," he said. "We would talk about everything: music, philosophy, movies, soccer, art."

Schutz published "Whatever It Takes" and "Til Death Do Us Part," short stories that featured the fictional Ellis brothers and based on his sons' adventures as private investigators during college break.

"I think Dad thought our one and only foray into 'garbology' was hilarious," said Jakob Schutz, a third-year radiology resident in St. Louis, recalling their attempt to swipe someone's trash to look for liquor bottles as evidence in a domestic dispute. Unfortunately, despite it being 3 a.m., the subject was awake, and the brothers bolted.

"It was like everything else in our lives," he said. "Dad took a supreme interest in everything we did."

That included father and sons playing table tennis and shooting hoops for hours in the cul-de-sac in front of the home near Tysons Corner where the boys grew up. Soccer became an interest of Schutz's because his boys played; he even coached, diving in with his usual verve, buying books and tapes and taking copious notes.

"Dad was the poster child for yellow legal pads," Jakob Schutz said.