Richard Valentine Schneider

Here is the story of Richard Valentine Schneider, my grandfather. You can either read it here, or choose to read it from google docs. The link is below.

https://docs.google.com/document

Richard Valentine Schneider was a proud man who started his life in Beattie Kansas on February 14, 1939. Richard’s mother was Vida (Gold) E. Hatten Schneider, who lived from 1896 to 1995. His father was Joseph C. Schneider who lived from 1892 to 1971. His family was a family of musicians and merchants. His mother played the violin and sang, while the father played the trumpet. Richard himself played the guitar. He had seven total siblings, although one was stillborn. Their names were Helen, Wilma, Rex, Maurice, Mary and Patrick. Helen was born February 10, 1918 and died August 2, 1994. Helen married Anthony F. Vondemkamp. Wilma was born on December 30, 1919 and died on March 27, 2015. She married Kenneth W. Mason. Rex was born on May 26, 1922 and died on August 28, 1974. He married Rita M. McDonnell Schneider. Maurice was born on November 13, 1923 and died on February 9,1987. Maurice was also a U.S. Navy World War II Veteran. According to documentation, he was not married. Mary was born August 18, 1925 and died on March 16, 2006. She married Ray N. Goodrich. Patrick was born on March 9, 1928 and died on October 9th, 2012. He married Rose I. Koelzer Schneider. Out of all the children, Richard was the youngest and as part of the normal at the time he started smoking, along with his siblings except for Wilma, at the age of eleven. Moving on to the duration of Richard’s schooling lasted up until the eighth grade. Eighth grade was the highest grade level available to him, so the only graduation picture he has is from when he is sixteen years old, instead of eighteen. Afterwards he decided, at the age of 16, to join the Navy. Richard’s decision to join was due to the fact that he did not want to be a farm hand. He wanted something more. Before entering the military though, Richard found the love of his life. He found her when he went on a double date with his, at the time, girlfriend. It was his girlfriend’s best friend, Jenene Jean Jergens, that he fell in love with that day, even though he was with someone else and she was as well. He still had to leave to the military though, to be able to start a better life for himself. He joined on February 29, 1956. It was only while in the military, that Richard was able to get a high school education. They taught him beyond the basics of a sixth grader of our time now. The military benefited him in many ways besides just education. He had the opportunity to be able to see what is across the ocean and discover what other countries were like. During this he successfully completed training in the General Trig course for PO’s, YN3, Boatswain Mate 3, Cargo Hand, GTC for PO, QM3, Vol. 1. He also earned the Good Conduct Medal. He never received any wounds as a result of action with enemy forces. His enlistment in the regular Navy was terminated and transferred to the U.S Naval Reserve and concurrent inactive duty on January 14, 1960. His official U.S Naval Reserve designation was USNR-R (Ready Reserve). Richard was in the ninth Naval District. When he was eighteen, the Navy gave him his three day pass. He took this pass from the Navy to visit his parents on May 7, 1957. His mother, proud of him as any mother would be, brought him to Edington Studios to take his picture which we have documented and treasured today. On September 5, 1958, Jenene took a bus from Oketo Kansas to Providence Rhode Island where Richard was supposed to dock after his time out on sea. There, they were to wed. Jenene was finally eighteen and no longer needed her parents permission to marry. Richard and Jenene got married in a small chapel with Mr. Joe Paglareni and Mrs. Leah Pagalerni, Richard and Jenene’s two best friends. Richard was twenty when he married Jenene. After the ceremony, their reception had bologna sandwiches, potato chips, mustard and Pepsi Cola. On Richard returned to the Navy, finished his term of six years on February 28, 1962. Once reunited with Jenene, he laid out a map and told Jenene, “Close your eyes. Now take your finger and point to a spot on the map. Wherever you choose is where we will go.” She pointed and landed on Omaha Nebraska. While on their journey to the town, the two were caught driving a little too fast in their Ford Galaxy 500 and so Jenene had to drive the rest of the way. Richard told her, “just steer, go down dirt roads. I am going to get on the floor and handle the break and gas, do you trust me?” After arriving in Oketo Richard started working at many part time jobs. It wasn’t until he gained experience in Beatrice Nebraska that he started working as a butcher. Finally he settled down after him and Jenene bought the O.K. Market, otherwise known as the Oketo market, in Oketo Kansas. There he opened up the business that he owned until 1976. He sold his stock to hospitals, restaurants, the county departments and many other facilities near and far from the market. During his first two years after buying the market in Oketo Kansas, him and his new wife Jenene had a daughter who they named Dennise Rae Schneider, my mother. She is the oldest out of the three children they end up having. The next daughter to be born is Leah Renee Schneider on August 14, 1963. After she was born, Michelle Diane Schneider was born on February 13, 1968, who is the youngest out of the three. Working his way up, Richard soon became the mayor of the their little town. As a father, he was protective over his daughters, but none more than Dennise. When Dennise was seven years old, he found out one night that when she was walking to school, she had been attacked by five of their neighbors dogs. Dennise had needed emergency care, and was rushed to the hospital. Protective as he was, he went to that man's yard and shot every one of the dogs. His statement was, “If those dogs taste blood now, they’ll taste it again. They’re rabid.” The doctor there had told him he had given his daughter a series of shots to protect her from any disease they might have, because three of the dogs turned out to be rabid. Later in the years, when Dennise was fifteen years old, Richard packed up the market and moved to Bangor Maine to start a new life there. He lived long and happy there, even though it was another struggle living in a new state, where he knew no one. Richard soon found a job as a meat cutter at Elmer’s CNM Market, while Jenene worked as a law secretary for Allan Graves in Machias Maine. After ten years, Richard quit working at Elmer’s Market and began working at the Cherryfield Foods as a foreman. In his free time, Richard could not sit still, he ended up purchasing a lobster boat and fished for hours. After five years of working at Cherryfield Foods, he quit once again and began working with the merchant marines. Richard and Jenene lived good long happy lives together as they watched their children grow up, the celebrations during the holidays, their children having kids of their own and celebrations with new little wiggly family members. Dennise had four children, three boys, one girl. Their names are Alexander Daniel Rae Polk born on June 24, 1989, Richard Christopher Whitmore born on July 31, 1979, James Warren Polk born on December 19, 1984, and Mareke Johannah Whitmore born on February 18, 1998. Leah had two children, Mark Ryan Perry and Carroll Jr , while Michelle did not have any children, but was married for some time. It wasn’t until after many years of smoking forhis entire life that he started to suffer from the effects of the tar build up in his lungs. He ended up in the hospital one night when he had sudden shortness of breathe. Richard was terrified that he was having a heart attack. Being transported to the hospital in Machias Maine by ambulance, only to find out that they could not deal with his situation. The hospital was not trained in the specifics of what was wrong with him. They transported Richard to Bangor Maine once again by ambulance where they found out that he had, had a heart attack. While waiting in the hospital, he was infected with a disease that worsened his condition and made it harder for him to breathe. His lungs started to compensate for lack of oxygen and the doctors called his relatives to let them know the news and to say their goodbyes now. He died in the hospital on June 24, 2001. One memorable quote from Patricia Schmidt from Lawrence Kansas says, “God saw he was getting tired & a cure was not to be So he put his arms around him & whispered come with Me. With tearful eyes we watched him suffer & saw him fade away. Although we couldn’t bear to lose him, we could not bid him stay. A golden heart stopped beating, hardworking hands laid to rest. God broke our hearts to prove to us he only takes the best.”