Edwin Philip Schreier III

EDWIN PHILIP SCHREIER III

1962-2025

With the passing of Edwin Philip (Phil) Schreier III, his friends, multitude of fans, and work associates have lost the most admired, knowledgeable respected and charming individuals to ever grace the firearms industry.

Phil was generous and helpful to a fault. An instantly recognizable figure at shows and conventions, with his trademark cigar, smile, and easy manner he became the unofficial "face" of the National Rifle Association (NRA). He never acknowledged the words "no" or "quit."

Phil was a 1980 graduate of our lady of good Counsel high school in Wheaton, Maryland and attended the University of Maryland at College Park where he received a degree in government and politics and minors in history and English.

He was very active in the Boy Scouts of America where he earned the Eagle Scout rank. Subsequently, Phil acted as a leader, holding many positions over the years, taking special pride in his role as volunteer at the Boy Scout National Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia.

As a teenager and into early adulthood Phil was a camp staffer at Goshen Scout camps in Goshen, Virginia. He was the shooting sports director at Camp PMI, as well as the program director of Lehokson Trail Camp.

Phil worked in several fields including serving a brief stint as an inspector in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. He joined the NRA as a helper in the National Firearms Museum gift shop and transitioned to the position of curatorial assistant in 1989, shortly becoming senior curator of exhibits and then, some 33 years later, director of the NRA Museums.

He was a man of many parts: manager of the NRA Gun Collecting Department; consultant and on-screen personality for scores television productions; respected writer of authoritative articles which appeared in NRA publications as well as organization journals including those of the American Society of Arms Collectors and The Company of Military Collectors and Historians, and general firearms publications such as Guns & Ammo, Man at Arms, Wild West, Surplus Firearms" and Military History Illustrated; and valued member of, or consultant to, a number of gun collector organizations.

But accolades aside Phil was, simply put, one of the most magnetic and affable figures a person could ever encounter. There are few who met him who did not consider him their "Best Friend"-and he was, he truly was.

He is survived by his mother, Frances Schreier, and a brother, Edward, sister, Maureen and four nephews.

The family would like to express their sincere thanks to Dr. Danielle Shafer and the oncology staff at the Inova, Fairfax Hospital.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to AML leukemia research