Judith "Judy" Marie Schneider

A Mass of Christian Burial for Judy Schneider, 74, of Melcher-Dallas will be held Saturday, May 7, 2022, at 10:30 a.m. at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Melcher-Dallas. Interment will be at the Bauer Cemetery following the service and a luncheon will be held at the church following the graveside service.

Family will receive friends at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Melcher-Dallas on Friday from 4:00 until 7:00 p.m., a Rosary will be held at 7:00 p.m. There will be an open visitation at the church beginning at noon on Friday.

The service will be livestreamed through the following link: https://my.gather.app/remember/judy-schneider

Memorials in Judy’s name may be made to the Sacred Heart Catholic Church or to the Melcher-Dallas Fire and Rescue.

Judith Marie (Otto) Schneider was born on August 3, 1947, to Alex and Talida (Buccheit) Otto in St. Louis, Missouri. She grew up in St. Louis and graduated from Corpus Christi High School. She continued her education, becoming a Physical Therapist. She made the decision to come to Des Moines to work as a Physical Therapist with Betsy. She made the comment as they were landing that she was right in the middle of a corn field and there was no way she was staying. However, she met the love of her life, Kenneth Schneider, and the couple married September 8, 1973. To this union, they were blessed with 7 children: Lisa, Laura, Latisha, Andrew, Aaron, Alex, and Laci. When Lisa came along, Judy was able to stay home, but continued to keep up on her license.

Judy was a breath of fresh air to all who knew her. She stepped up, always willing to volunteer where she could. Just to name a few, she helped on the Coal Miner’s Day Committee, was a huge supporter of the local library, assisted with the food pantry, worked the polls at election time, was an active member of the Athletic and Band Booster Clubs, and assisted many, many times at the concession stand during little league games. Judy really knew how to make money at the fundraisers and working the concession stands, and did the same for her church, where she was a dedicated member.

Judy was a bargain shopper and loved those blue light specials. She once broke her hip at a Black Friday sale, and when she shopped those Black Friday sales, we are talking from the evening of Thanksgiving clear through Friday night. She meant business.

Judy spent many hours gardening and canning. Her family will attest, she could cook some delicious meals, and pies were a specialty of hers as well. A couple of her favorites were her black raspberry and gooseberry pies. She also raised bucket calves, sometimes over 30 at a time.

Judy loved to live, not just living day by day, but fully enjoying her life and what she could share with others. She was well known for her skits at Coal Miner’s as well as at her church. She will be remembered greatly for her ability to perform in plays, making others laugh. Then there were the mother/daughter drill team dances that she lovingly participated in, enjoying them to the fullest just as she did every activity she shared with her children.

When she wasn’t busy volunteering or assisting with her children’s activities, she enjoyed heading to the casinos for a bit of fun. She and Ken also enjoyed golf cart rides together, but Judy had to give orders to Ken on how to drive.

Judy had a love for dancing, whether it be at parties, out with her husband, or most recently as a Spark Plug for the Iowa Energy basketball team. Her loving, free spirit was a blessing to all.

Judy passed away May 2, 2022. She will be greatly missed by her husband, Ken Schneider; children: Lisa (Greg) Fender, Laura Thompson, Latisha (Eleke) Ukpabi, Andrew (Pamela) Schneider, Aaron (Wei) Schneider, Alex Schneider, and Laci Schneider; 8 grandchildren: Julian, Keenai, Winston, Jalyn, Amaiya, Kingston, Harry, and Benny; her twin sister, Jackie (Pete) Pickard; sister-in-law, Beth Otto; along with many brothers and sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.

Preceding her in death are her parents: Alex and Talida Otto; brother, Jim Otto; sister, JoAnn (Don) McDonagh; niece, Kristie Otto and nephews: Michael McDonagh and Jay Dhabalt.