Hans Jacob SCHROEDER

SCHROEDER, SCHIPULL, PLAINTE, MACKEY, ROBERTS, JAGELS

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 6/16/2012 at 13:14:42

April 13, 1924 --- January 10, 2011

CLEAR LAKE, IA - Hans Jacob Schroeder, 86, of 101 S. 20th St., died Monday, Jan. 10, 2011, at his home. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 14, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 419 N. Delaware Ave., Mason City, with the Rev. Mark Lavrenz officiating. Interment will be at Memorial Park Cemetery, Mason City. Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 13, at Ward-Van Slyke Colonial Chapel, 101 N. Fourth St., Clear Lake. Memorials may be given to the Hans Jacob Schroeder Memorial Fund.

Hans was born in northern Germany on April 13, 1924. At the age of 4, Hans' parents took him to start a new life in Iowa. First with his parents and later on his own, Hans farmed near Clear Lake until 1998. He served in the U.S. Army from 1946 to 1948. The Army gave him a chance to improve his skiing during his time in Colorado. During his service time, he met Harold Schipull, who years later would introduce him to his sister, Nora. Hans and Nora were married Dec. 29, 1957. Hans loved going to sales. His daughters, Marie and Helen, spent a lot of time at sale barns. At his own farm sale in 1998, nearly 50 mowers went on the auction block along with his last Oliver tractor. Although he had many kinds, Oliver was his favorite. He had an 1800 Oliver put on his grave marker many years ago. Hans loved to play cards, swim, fish and travel throughout the U.S.A. as well as several trips back to his homeland, including a 1980 visit to his son, daughter-in-law and grandson, Hans Christian, while they were stationed with the Air Force in Germany. Most recently he participated in a World War II Winnebago Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. Back on the farm, life was never dull, with the occasional tractor, ditch or building fire - none devastating. His ability to strike up a conversation is legendary, a product of hours at farm sales, McDs, the VFW, the Senior Citizens Center, selling his treasures, around the card table and at the church where he and Nora brought their family up in the Lord, Bethlehem Lutheran.

Those left to cherish the memories of this gentle man include his wife of 53 years, Nora Schroeder of Clear Lake; four children, Angie Plainte of Kent City, Mich., Charlie (Kathy) Schroeder of Mason City, Helen (Kurt) Mackey of Ames and Marie (Dennis) Roberts of Clive and their families, including six grandchildren - Ben, Patty, Aaron, Adam, Nicole and Molly, as well as three great-grandchildren - Christian, Rowen and Weston Hans. Also left to cherish his memories are brothers-in-law, Harold Schipull and Otto Jagels. Waiting to receive him are his parents, Christian and Margarete; a son, Richard, who left us in June 1959; and a grandson, Hans Christian, who passed away in 2010. This grandson and Hans did one thing in common - flying an airplane at the Mason City airport, and now together they will soar on wings like eagles (Isaiah 40: 31). Ward-Van Slyke Colonial Chapel, Clear Lake, IA

Mason City Globe Gazette - Mason City, Iowa
January 13, 2011