Mitchell C. Shubert
Newberry, Fla.
With a tool belt slung around his waist, Mitchell C. Shubert was always ready to hammer down a wayward nail or tighten a loose screw. He was quick to help, and often so focused on the job that friends had to ask him to stop working so hard.
Shubert's strong and sturdy build made him a natural outdoorsman and construction worker. He had been on numerous fishing and hunting trips, and he was used to hauling several hundred pounds of lumber.
Surviving came so naturally to Shubert, according to his father, that it was surprising when he died of the injuries he sustained in the Feb. 20 fire at The Station in West Warwick, R.I.
"He worked hard for every damn thing," said his father, Walter Shubert, from his home in Gainesville, Fla. "No matter what life threw at him, he fought back. We all thought he was going to make it."
Shubert, 39, of Newberry, Fla., was in Rhode Island to visit friends and complete a construction project. He was visiting Kevin Blom of Warwick and Blom's brother, Steven, of Cranston, R.I. All three attended the Great White concert. Kevin Blom sustained minor injuries in the fire; Steven Blom died.
Shubert, who had three children, had recently quit his job as a construction superintendent for Trinity Builders in Gainesville, his father said, and was making plans to start his own business.
"He finally wanted to do something for himself," Walter Shubert said. "He came to me and said, `Dad, can you help me out with this?' I'm a 75-year-old veteran and I don't have very much, but I said, `Of course son. Of course.' "
EUN LEE KOH
