AJ Schulte was born as Alfred John Schulte III but was called AJ for his entire life.  He was born on February 19, 1963, in Richmond VA to Al Schulte Jr and Mary Beth Ulmark Schulte.  He died on January 7, 2024, in Federal Way WA on the 40th anniversary of his marriage to his beloved wife Tana Canham Schulte on January 7, 1984.

When he was a year old, his parents moved back to Federal Way, and AJ lived there the rest of his life.  He was educated at Mark Twain Elementary School, Totem Jr. High, and Federal Way High School where he participated in track and band.  AJ then went to Washington State University where he became a #1 Cougar fan forever after and passed that love on to his family.  On the day before his passing, when his nurse was putting a fresh hospital gown on him, he said to her "You're not putting a Husky shirt on me are you?"

When AJ was 13 years old, he joined the Black Watch Drum and Bugle Corps in Auburn.  His first event with the Corps was marching in his kilt as a baritone horn player in Jimmy Carter's inaugural parade in bitterly cold weather in Washington DC on January 20, 1977.  For the next several years his summers were spent traveling the country, sometimes with his dad driving one of the buses or his mom along as one of the cooks, rehearsing up to ten hours a day, sleeping on gym floors, and competing with other corps.  The culmination of that intense training was when Black Watch won the Class A National Championship in Denver CO in August, 1978.  Also in his high school years, he and some of his friends formed a rock band and named it AZIZ.  They became local rock stars with AJ playing bass guitar before their screaming fans.

AJ's work life was at his family's Redondo Heights Auto Parts from the time he was a young teenager until the store property was sold in 2004.  He then went to work almost immediately for the USPS as a walking mail carrier in Seattle, walking many miles a day carrying a 40# bag.  He retired from the post office a few months ago and was looking forward to a long happy retirement with Tana.

AJ was a major sports fan.  In addition to WSU sports, he was an avid Seattle Sounders fan and was a season ticket holder, and he enjoyed baseball with the Seattle Mariners and the Tacoma Rainiers.  He was, of course, a Seahawks fan too.  His personal sports were youth soccer, high school track, and hiking.  He and Tana often hiked the Dash Point trails from their house down to the beach at Dash Point.  AJ had a dream of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail after he retired, but that dream was cut short when he was attacked by a big dog on his mail route three years ago, suffering fractures that affected the rest of his life.

AJ was preceded in death by his father Al Schulte less than a year ago and by his beloved Goodie and Papa (Al Sr. and Catherine Schulte).  He is survived by his wife Tana, the woman he adored since they were both teenagers.  He is also survived by their three sons:  Ian & Brittany, Zach, and Nick & Marella.  Their two granddaughters, Anna, and Lucy.  His mother Mary Beth Schulte, his brother Dave & Laurie Schulte and their family Danielle, Michael, Meredith, and Jack Shutt; his brother Doug & Barbara Schulte, and his sister Lesley Schulte.

AJ's family will plan a celebration of his life at a future date in warmer weather.