Sue Schneider

North Mankato Mortuary " NORTHVIEW
507-388-2288

Winoma Shirley (Sue) Schneider, 61, of Safford, AZ., entered the loving arms of our Lord on the morning of Thursday, November 18, 2010 at the University Medical Center in Tucson, AZ. A memorial service will be held for Sue on Sat., Dec. 4, at the North Mankato Mortuary Northview, 2060 Commerce Dr., North Mankato, MN. The visitation will be at 10 a.m., services are at 11 a.m. and lunch will follow. Sue will be buried in the family plot with her parents, brother, son and sister-in-law at Meadow Ridge Memorial Park Cemetery in Faribault, MN. A Sue Schneider Memorial Fund has been established. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial gifts be directed to Tara Anderson at 112 Inverness Court, Mankato, Minn. 56001.

Sue was born Dec. 11, 1948, in Faribault, Minn., the daughter of August and Winoma (Kirkman) Borchert. She graduated from Faribault High school in 1966. Sue had a great love for children. It was while serving as a house parent at Charles Hall Youth Services, a home for disadvantaged Indian children, in Bismarck, N.D., that she fell in love with her husband, Rick Schneider, an editor and sales representative for the Bismarck Tribune. They served as house parents and tutors for the children for four years and were married in 1973 in Bismarck. Sue and Rick were also foster parents for more than 20 children. Some of the children they cared for while serving as house parents and foster parents kept in regular contact with Sue, and some still referred to her as their Mom.

Rick's newspaper career took them to stays in Garrison, N.D., Libby, Mt., Williston, N.D., Sidney, Mt., and their present home in Safford, where Rick serves as publisher of the Eastern Arizona Courier and the Copper Era. Sue dearly loved Arizona, and she and Rick had recently purchased a retirement cabin on San Carlos Lake. Though she could only enjoy a couple of weeks at her beloved cabin, it was a place she cherished.

Sue is survived by husband Rick of Safford, AZ.; daughter Tonya Schneider and her children, Bridget, Madison and Kennedy, of Williston, N.D.; daughter Tara Anderson, her husband Troy, and their children, Jessica, Nathan and Dakota of Mankato, MN.; son Marlon, a high school student in Safford; brother August (Danny), of Warsaw, Minn.; mother- and father-in-law John and Lillian Schneider of Strasburg, N.D.; sister-in-law Karen and husband Bert Olson of Fargo, N.D., brother-in-law John and wife Michelle Schneider of Lake Havasu, AZ.; sister-in-law Mary and husband Steve Kilwein of Hettinger, N.D.; sister-in-law Nancy Borchert of Winona, MN.; great-grandchildren Cameron, Marleigh, Oscar and Brinley Sue due in February 2011, nieces Heather and Jeremy Christian, Shelly and Patrick Morgan of PA, Kimberly and Troy Krenz of Warsaw, MN and nephew Mark Borchert of Kansas, MO. Her dearest friend in Safford was Mellissa Skinner. Sue was preceded in death by her father, August; her mother, Winoma; a brother, Roger, a son, Troy, and sister-in-law, Pamela Borchert.

Sue experienced the unbearable grief of losing her mother, brother and son in a year's time. Though Sue suffered through years of many serious health issues, the family takes comfort in the fact that God has a special place in Heaven for those who suffer the most on Earth.