Portola Valley: Equestrian, town icon Al Schreck dies at age 89

Albert Schreck, a Portola Valley resident who helped incorporate the town in 1964, died on Feb. 6. A real estate executive, an equestrian enthusiast and a world traveler and adventurist, he was 89 at the time of his passing.

Born in Los Angeles, he grew up in Larchmont, New York, and attended Williams College in Massachusetts. He met his future wife, Jo Wells, while he was in college, and the two were married in 1952, according to his family.

After Schreck served a stint in the Air Force in Germany, the Schrecks moved to the Bay Area, where Al entered law school at Stanford University and Jo enrolled there as an undergraduate, according to the family.

They settled down in Ladera, but moved to Portola Valley in 1957, where they raised three sons, Dan, Charlie and Tom, on the horse ranch they purchased, according to Tom Schreck.

Jo Schreck died in April of 2015.

His father, along with former Sunset Magazine co-owner Bill Lane and other town residents, helped to incorporate Portola Valley in 1964, Tom Schreck said. “They tried to convince Woodside to incorporate along with them, but were soundly rejected.”

Portola Valley was “wild and woolly” when the family first moved there, and his parents were deeply involved in improving the town’s trail system, and were well-known for their presence, on horseback, on the local trails, Tom Schreck said.

The family was active in the horseback riding community, riding in point-to-point races and participating in horse shows, Tom said.

“I remember as a young boy following my father on my pony, heading out on Portola Valley trails and, when I was 16, driving him to various ranches,” he said.

Al and Jo Schreck were both enthusiastic world travelers, and loved going to Ireland for horseback riding and hunting, Tom said.

The couple made a memorable equestrian trip to the African country of Botswana, and Tom Schreck recalled warning them about the danger of such a trip when they met up later in London.

“‘What if a lion or a bull elephant confronts you when you’re on horseback?’ I asked them,” Tom said. “It took a huge amount of courage to do that in their mid-60s.”

Al Schreck was a co-founder of the real estate investment firm of Kingsley, Schreck, Wells & Reichling, along with his brother-in-law Albert Wells, according to a biography written by his family.

The company was active in business for more than 50 years, and accumulated a substantial commercial real estate portfolio including the vintage Monadnock Building on Market Street in San Francisco that survived the 1906 earthquake, Tom Schreck said.

Al Schreck was also active in politics, serving as the finance manager for the campaign of former congressman Pete McCloskey, who ran against former child actress Shirley Temple Black in 1967, according to the family.

He also served on the Portola Valley School District board while his sons attended elementary and middle school in the district, Tom Schreck said.

“McCloskey once said that if Al Schreck could win the Portola Valley school board election, he could beat Shirley Temple Black,” Tom Schreck said.

Al Schreck was also a trustee for several organizations, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, UCSF’s “That Man May See,” and the Abelard Foundation. He was a coach and umpire for the Alpine Little League, and helped finance and build the first backstop at Ford Field in Portola Valley, according to the family.

Al’s three sons survive him.

A memorial service in Portola Valley is planned for August, Tom Schreck said.

The family prefers that memorial donations in Al’s name be made to UCSF’s “That Man May See.” Go to ThatManMaySee.com for information.