Joseph “Joe” Schneider, 98, Dickinson, died Wednesday, October 7, 2020 at St. Luke’s Home, Dickinson. Joe’s Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 a.m., Tuesday, October 13, 2020 at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church with Fr. Robert Shea as celebrant. Interment will follow at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan. Military Honors will be provided by the Dickinson American Legion Post 3 Honor Guard. Visitation will be on Monday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Ladbury Funeral Service, Dickinson. A private family rosary will be held at Ladbury Funeral Service. For those in attendance of Joe’s services, masks will be required.
Joe Schneider was born December 27, 1921 on a farm five miles northeast of Napoleon. He had six brothers and five sisters, he was the third youngest. He attended country school for the first eight grades and graduated from Napoleon High School in 1940. He attended Valley City State Teachers College in Valley City in 1940-41 before transferring to NDSU in Fargo 1941-42. His college education was interrupted in 1942 by World War II.
Joe enlisted in the Navy June 6, 1942 and took basic training at the Great Lakes Training Center. Thereafter he served on many ships. In the invasion of North Africa at Casablanca he was the swain on a 36 foot boat that took troops to the beach head, back and forth. He was involved in the invasion of Sicily. Joe was then transferred to a Merchant Marine ship and ended up in Bombay India. In May of 1944 he found himself back in the Washington, D.C. area hospitalized as a result of a back injury suffered in the battle to take Sicily. He was assigned to the Naval Barracks in 1944 and was honorably discharged from the Navy on June 11, 1946.
While serving at the Naval Barracks, he met and married Beatrice Miller after a whirlwind wartime courtship. They were married on March 20, 1945 in St. Matthew’s Catholic Church in Washington, D.C. Within a year their son, Jerry, was born. Joe was discharged form the Navy and they headed back to school at Valley City. While at school Joe worked at a variety of jobs to make ends meet and to stay in college. After graduating from college with honors, Joe accepted a position as Vocational Agriculture instructor at the Clinton, Minn. high school for the 1949-1950 school year. He returned to NDSU for the next school year before accepting a position with the Napoleon School District in 1951 to teach Veterans on the Farm Training. In 1954 he accepted a position with the Farm Home Administration in Dickinson and continued working for them for the next 29 years. He started as an Assistant County Supervisor, then County Supervisor, District Director, working in the state office and finally as State Director from 1974-1978. During this time he lived in Dickinson, Bismarck, Devils Lake, then back to Bismarck, and finally back to Dickinson where his career with FHA started. He often spoke with pride about the work he was able to accomplish and the quality of the people he was fortunate to work with. Joe and Bea retired to a plot of land just north of Dickinson to pursue their love of gardening, the country life and to enjoy family in the vicinity. In retirement he and his wife enjoyed traveling to Hawaii, Europe, Buenos Aires, Argentina and Mexico. His wife Bea passed away in 2005 and Joe transitioned to The Evergreen, an assisted living facility in Dickinson. Joe enjoyed living their for 11 years before moving to St. Luke’s Nursing Home in Dickinson in 2016.
Joe had been very active in the American Legion, serving in various offices at various times in various cities, including one of many who built by hand the American Legion building in Napoleon. His wife Bea was the State President at one time for the American Legion Auxiliary. Joe was also a member of the Dickinson Elks, St. Anthony Club, German Hungarian Club, a founding member of the North Dakota Germans from Russia Historical Society, a founding member of the Dickinson Famers Market and he was also a founding and several times elected member of the South West Water Authority. In his leisure time he enjoyed gardening, traveling and solving crossword puzzles.
Joe is survived by his son, Jerry (Vivian), Dickinson; three grandson, Michael, Steven (Ali) and Donald (Cielo); great-grandchildren, Eli, Michael, Christopher, Matthew, Ethan and Isabella.
