Frank Schubert was the last civilian lighthouse keeper

Lighthouse keeper

A lighthouse keeper is the person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Keepers were needed to trim the wicks, replenish fuel, wind clockworks and perform maintenance tasks such as cleaning...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Schubert worked for the United States Coast Guard

United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

 since 1939; at the time of his death he was serving at the Coney Island Light

Coney Island Light

Coney Island Light is a lighthouse located in Sea Gate, on the west end of Coney Island, Brooklyn, in New York City, east of New York Harbor's main channel....

house in Sea Gate, Brooklyn, New York, where he had worked since 1960.

He maintained the grounds and fog signal, and was credited with saving 15 lives. Schubert remained at the lighthouse after it was automated in the 1980s, and was visited by many lighthouse buffs.

He died on December 11, 2003, aged 88.

See also

• Coney Island Lighthouse website - maintained by the Schubert family
• Lighthouse Digest article
• Obituary