Alfred G. Scheid

February 7, 1932 – March 31, 2023

It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Alfred “Al” G. Scheid at the age of 91.

Al was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, on February 7, 1932. He died peacefully at his home in Pacific Palisades, California, on Friday, March 31.

Al came from humble beginnings but went on to lead an extraordinary life. He was raised in the coal-mining town of Bridgeport, Ohio, during the Depression, an upbringing he wrote about in his memoir “Breaking Out Of Beerport.”

Although a poor student in his youth, his love of reading opened up the world to him and, at the age of 19, he hitchhiked out of Bridgeport with $42 in his pocket. After jobs in a steel mill and a tire factory, with the Korean War raging, Al joined the U.S. Navy and was stationed at Los Alamitos Naval Air Station in southern California. It was during this tenure that he gained the confidence to attend college, putting himself through Citrus Junior College and Claremont Men’s College by working a variety of jobs and then on to earning his MBA from Harvard Business School.

Upon graduation from Harvard, Al moved to California and joined E.F. Hutton & Co. but soon felt constrained by the corporate world. It was the 1960s and he wanted to be what was known back then as a deal man. He struck out to pursue dealmaking using a combination of street smarts, innate intelligence and sheer nerve. He was instrumental in closing numerous deals across many industries, undaunted by diving into businesses he knew nothing about.

Al went on to found two successful biotechnology companies and his eponymous wine company, Scheid Family Wines, that has evolved from a grape grower to a wine company producing close to one million cases of wine annually. Scheid Family Wines celebrated its 50th anniversary last year and is still a family-run business with two of Al’s children, Scott and Heidi Scheid, at the helm.

Al’s family and friends remember him as a highly intelligent, honest and generous man with a quick wit and incredible memory. He was a natural entertainer and consummate storyteller. Every person who knew Al knows an Al story. Up until his death at 91 years of age, he could recall details from his youth, every deal he ever did and meetings that happened years before, all in hilarious detail.

He called himself the luckiest man he knew and could tell you a hundred reasons why. He was a loving husband, father and grandfather, and will be missed tremendously by all who knew him.

Al was a resident of Pacific Palisades for over 50 years, and a long-time member of the Bel-Air Bay Club and Riviera Country Club.

He is survived by his wife, Shirley Gladden Scheid; four children, Scott, Heidi, Emily, and Tyler; two stepchildren, Mike and Kim; and 14 grandchildren.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 1 p.m., Tuesday, June 13, at the Bel-Air Bay Club. Please email Heidi at heidi.m.scheid@gmail.com for details if you wish to attend.

If you wish to make a donation in Al’s name, please consider Community Foundation for the Ohio Valley directed toward BEAF (Bridgeport Educational Assistance Foundation), 1226 Chapline Street, Wheeling, WV 26003 or online at Bridgeport Educational Assistance Foundation: cfov.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1063.