Personal Injury Lawyer Died After Rescuing Boy in Surf

Charles H. Schulze, 73, a partner in a Washington personal injury law firm, died April 25 after helping two boys caught in a rip current in the surf in Pompano Beach, Fla., where he had a vacation home. He suffered a heart attack.

Mr. Schulze, who lived in Washington's American University Park neighborhood, was taking a stroll on the beach about 12:45 p.m. with his longtime companion, Helen Smith, when he spotted the boys in distress, his family said.

"Take my hat," he told Smith, removing his white tennis hat and dashing into the surf. Officials said the water at the time was extremely rough, and the stretch of beach was not protected by lifeguards.

Smith said Mr. Schulze, who was a good swimmer, saw one boy reach safety but realized that the other was being swept away and plunged after him.

After Mr. Schulze had helped the second boy to rescuers, he suddenly appeared in distress himself. He was pulled from the water and was pronounced dead at Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale.

"He went above and beyond . . . and made the ultimate sacrifice so these two boys could live," said Sandra King, a spokeswoman for the Pompano Beach fire and rescue department. "That's clearly the definition of a hero."

Investigators identified the boys as Joshua Anderson, 9, and Benjamin Anderson, 12, of Penfield, N.Y., a suburb of Rochester. They were with their family on vacation. Their father, Andrew, telephoned the Schulze family to express his thanks.

Charles Hatfield Schulze was born in McLean and raised in Washington. In his younger days, he had been a member of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad.

He graduated from American University and its law school and was an assistant D.C. corporation counsel before turning to personal injury law. In the early 1970s, he helped start the Washington firm that is now Schulze and Pederson.

His marriages to Patricia Elward and Linda Vermillion ended in divorce.

Survivors include three children from the first marriage, Charles Schulze Jr. of Bel Air, Md., Richard Schulze of Vienna and Margaret Schulze of Santa Fe; a son from the second marriage, Paige Schulze of Ashburn; two brothers, Kenton Schulze of Bethesda and Richard Schulze of Kamuela, Hawaii; and five grandchildren.

Charles Schulze Jr. said that his father, who had recovered from a heart attack about 20 years ago, "died the way he lived: helping people. My dad would not be a guy that would take any credit for this at all. It's not a tragedy. None of us see this as our tragedy."