Henry Schneider died Wednesday, July 6, 2016 at home in San Antonio, Texas, following a brief eight-month battle with cancer. He was 75 years old.
The son of Viola Ruth Dakin Lowe Schneider and Max Henry Schneider, Henry was born in New Orleans, LA on May 19, 1941.
Henry is survived by his wife of 51 years, Martha Winifred Camp Schneider; his daughter Laura Schneider Young and her husband Kevin of Lubbock, daughter Barbara Schneider Talley and her husband Paul of San Antonio, son Carl Henry Schneider and his wife Emilie of Humble, and nine grandchildren ranging in age from 19 to 4 years old.
Growing up in Lake Charles, LA, Henry spent countless hours in Drew Park, now the Willie Landry Community Center. He loved music, baseball, astronomy, and earned his HAM radio license as a young teenager, making news as a 16 year old when he provided the first communication to emergency services in the wake of Hurricane Audrey. Henry was a clarinetist as well as the drum major in both the Lake Charles High School and Louisiana Tech University marching bands. He enjoyed reunions and maintaining friendships with classmates.
Henry and Winifred met at Louisiana Tech and married in 1965 in the Haynesville United Methodist Church in Haynesville, LA. Henry served in the U.S. Navy as a skilled radioman in Da Nang, Vietnam, and then on the USS Pawcatuck. Following military service, career opportunities took him to Houston and then Pasadena, Texas where he and Winifred raised three children, worked, and served many years as dedicated members of Sunset United Methodist Church. Henry enjoyed retirement in San Antonio where he was a member of University United Methodist Church and multiple HAM radio clubs.
Among many things, family and friends will remember his dry sense of humor, sarcasm, and quick wit. Winifred will remember their shared competitive spirit discovered during their first tennis date, followed by years of bowling leagues and ping-pong matches, climbing dozens of feet in the air to assist with radio towers, years of Wednesday night choir rehearsals, and enduring harassment from unhappy baseball fans after discovering she was the umpire’s wife. His children will remember him correcting their grammar, embarrassing them in front of their friends, driving the getaway car for their shenanigans, conducting the radio, exposing them to jazz, classical, folk, and 50’s rock music and supporting their passion for music and sports. His grandchildren will remember drawing on his bald head with markers, his teasing, his knowledge of butterflies, his love of astronomy, and his detailed (and sometimes made-up) stories of his childhood adventures.
In lieu of a memorial service, you are invited to share a memory/story of an experience with Henry.
In lieu of flowers or a donation to charity, consider being a lung health advocate – for yourself and your neighbor. Because lung cancer is often symptom free until it reaches advanced stages, it’s the leading cancer killer in the United States. And, like Henry, it affects non-smokers too. Early detection is key. Screenings could be life-saving, yet are not standard. Talk to your doctor. Make every day count.
henryschneider59 
I met Henry around 1995/96 when we were both active members of an Amateur Radio club – The Texas DX Society. Today 12/22/2019 I saw a callsign ending in HS and Henry came to mind.
at first I couldn’t remember his callsign, then a quick google of Henry and TDXS member I found out of his passing. Bittersweet is the feeling. Bitter than I will never have the opportunity to speak with him and enjoy his humor. Sweeet in seeing all the wonderful memories others have taken time to post about their time with Henry. Many of you knew him far better than I but he is one of those once in a lifetime folks that stand out one we were all truly blessed to have known.
73 (all the best) Henry until we meet again
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Henry was an avid communicator..hope he got to vote absentee . Good bless you I’ll certainly miss his political humor.
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Henry and I grew up as neighbors, from the
First grade through HighSchool. He was a wonderful
Friend, and a beautiful person. I feel blessed to have been part of his life.
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So sorry to hear about the loss of your husband. The lost of a loved one is never easy, we can only pray for you & your family during this time of grief. We don’t want to see our loved ones suffer; we know he is with the master now.
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Henry will be missed by his friends, classmates and mostly by his family. He was truly one of the “good guys” and kept those of us who have long left the Lake Charles area up to date of our classmates. May God surround and comfort his family in their loss.
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I met Henry when I was 14, just about 60 years ago. He learned I was interested in ham radio, probably through his dad who knew my dad, and he volunteered to teach me Morse code. I spent many hours during the summer of 1956 in his ham shack, the same one shown in the picture above. At the time I was a skinny, pencil-necked geek, musician type nerd and he was a big baseball-playing athlete, musician and all-round popular guy at the high school I was to enter in the fall of ’56. Yet he was tolerant and kind to me and never made me feel small or insignificant. His sardonic humor was always delivered in a way that I knew he meant no contempt. Yes, he was intimidating as Michael shared, as were all the people I looked up to as a boy. He got me through the novice exam and was my first contact. He helped me increase my Morse speed and got me through the general class exam and was my first voice contact. But we both enjoyed CW much more than AM or the hated SSB. I always attributed his skill as a CW operator to his consummate musicianship. He had a very even fist and and the analogies to music are too numerous to mention. We were friends through high school and college and somehow kept in touch, albeit infrequently. More recently, we were together at a band reunion attended by our beloved Mr. Cronin and we enjoyed a frequent email correspondence over the past several years. He started then and never gave up trying to get me back on the air, a quest at which he failed, but I have kept my license and some day I will get back up and running in CW QRP of course. In part, I think I kept up the license because letting it lapse would let Henry down. I can’t think of my call letters without thinking of Henry.
When he told me of his lung cancer diagnosis last year, I had great hopes he would have one of the “favorable” gene mutations that would respond miraculously to one of the new targeted therapies. Sadly it was not to be. Although I saw Henry infrequently, he was one of those people that you were glad he existed. (Henry, our English teachers would not approve that sentence construction, but everyone knows what I mean!). I am not surprised to see he affected so many people the same way he did me. His passing leaves a big hole in the fabric of the universe.
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Henry and I met on a windy day when I was unwinding some uncooperative wire along the curb in front of my house in Pasadena, Texas. I was trying to find my way alone to a ham radio license when Henry drove slowly past before stopping and backing up. He then asked if I was measuring a wire antenna and a discussion followed that led to a 40 year friendship centered around both our interests in radio. At first, Henry, an excellent morse code operator, was more than a tad intimidating and I clearly remember an early visit to his home where he chatted with me and talked in morse code to several Russians at the same time. To a newbie, it looked impossible, and while I’m a fair cw operator, I never came close to Henry’s skill level. Eventually my family moved away and though we kept in touch by email often, it wasn’t until he and Winnie retired and moved to San Antonio that we reconnected again on a more personal basis. We both shared a love of low power radio communications and talked often, sometimes via email, sometimes in person, and occasionally at lunch. Sometimes it was about radio, other times is was about family. More than once it was about his beloved Astros. I truly admired and respected Henry as a man, father, husband, and friend, and he achieved all any of us can hope to achieve in life – he left behind a lot of memories in the hearts of those luck enough to have known him. He will surely be missed by many, and I am surely one of them. God Bless Henry, Winnie, and his children and grandchildren.
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I will always remember Henry’s distinct laugh and contagious smile as his eyes always sparkled. Chats with him were always interesting as he showed so much of an optimistic side. I’ll never forget his support and strength when we lost my dad. He led a wonderful life and filled it with so many wonderful moments. Heaven has gained a wonderful angel who is filling it with laughter and wonderful music. Our families love and prayers to Winnie, Laura, Barbara, Carl and all of the kids.
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Henry was very special to me and members of “LCHS Class of ’59”. He kept us up-to-date on what was happening with other classmates, and was always ready to help when we needed to contact everyone. What will we do without him? He was invaluable in planning reunions and get togethers! Winnie, prayers are with you and your family at this time of loss. Henry was so very proud of his family. Memories of him will surely comfort y’all as you remember all of the good, goofy times with Henry.
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Music that reminds me of Henry’s light hearted manners.
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Henry and I were classmates at Lake Charles High School and we have been friends through all the years that have passed since then – As an active planner for all of our class reunions, Henry and I worked together and with others to have the best reunions we could – And they were! Henry initiated compiling a master list of all graduates’ information from our class and did a remarkable job of maintaining it all these years – He is responsible for the awesome turnouts we have – As I said at the last reunion, Henry was directly responsible for all of us being there because he sent information to everyone regarding each reunion – He also kept us informed of pertinent happenings in the lives of our friends – For instance, when my grandson joined the Marines, and was deployed to Iraq, I asked Henry to please contact everyone because I wanted and needed my friends to pray for my grandson’s safety – He immediately sent out a mass e-mail and I know that those prayers were the reason that my grandson returned from Iraq safely – For that, I will be eternally grateful for Henry’s help – Henry was a life-long friend, and he and Winnie were always at our functions no matter how far away they lived – To Winnie, Laura, Barbara, Paul and all of your families—Please accept my deepest condolences for your loss – You are all in my thoughts and prayers and my hope is that God will give you the strength to make it through the days to come and a lifetime of precious memories of Henry –
God Bless You All Karole Khoury Caskey
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One of the things I will remember is that he and you are our youngest son’s God parents. I think Neal is more like his God father! H scarred Terry that Halloween. We used H as a threat to Terry. “Behave or we’ll cut your hair like Henry’s”. So glad to find out he came home for lunch😆 never forget our games of canasta and our poor boy sandwiches before bowling. H thought Tim was a jerk also and was so happy when I bowled that 175 with my 101 average. We kicked Tim’s teams butt. Rest in peace my friend until we meet again.
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I am so so sorry Winnie and family. May his memory be forevet a blessing, and may G-d give you healing strength and peace. With love.
Abby Eliezer
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So sorry for your loss…I will always remember you, your husband and the kids from San Jacinto Intermediate in Pasadena. It as my pleasure to have taught Barbara and Carl and working with you. Thing of you all today.
Kathy (Karlen) Van Ness
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Henry was the best of the best. His friendship, to both Scott and I, has been a powerful blessing. Winnie, I know how hard this is for you and hope you will reach out to those many friends that also loved Henry. God bless you and your family as you grieve our friend Henry.
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I have been trying to think of something to say but I am so defeated right now. The cascade of memories of this family over the last half century is overwhelming. From high school when I knew Winifred to La Tech when I met Henry to the years in Houston/Pasadena, the bowling, card games, births of kids, the girls’ angelic voices at my kid’s wedding, the times Henry swears up and down he beat me at tennis(OK Henry-you beat me-once–but you cheated-you played left-handed!), why I still to this day remember their address, phone number in Pasadena, and Henry’s ham call sign, that my kids call Winifred “Ma Fred”, going to the Astros games with Winifred and sitting in the “family” seats because Carl was the batboy. How we all hurt when we lost Wanda.
There is nothing I can say that can bring all of Henry’s family and friends the solace they deserve at a time like this–I’ll close with this. What a great world this would be if everyone had a husband, son ,father or friend like Henry. I sure am missing all the jokes you used to send me every day.
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Henry had to have worked hours and hours collecting and inputing our Class of 59’s individual data information so that he could pull the class together and keep everyone informed. Even though he and Winnie lived away, there were many times that they would come to Lake Charles for reunion meetings. He will be missed in any future gatherings that our class may have. Winnie, you are to be commended for taking such good care of him until the end. Please do not hesitate to call if there is anything I can do for you. Farewell dear friend, “until we meet again”
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Remember the film, “It’s A Wonderful Life”. Wow! Henry had that wonderful life. Yep, he was the richest man in town. What a treat to have had him in our lives. Henry was the one who put me back in touch with our 1959 LCHS friends and classmates on email and even more so now on facebook. He was the one who kept track of all of us. And, in turn, we are all keeping in touch with each other. We must still all do that! I still say that our Class of 1959 was special and Henry was proof of that statement. And, all of the loving statements said by everyone is, indeed, proof that Henry Schneider was very special and is leading the best band in heaven.
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I will always remember Henry leading the LCHS marching band down the football field at Wildcat Stadium. What a treat it was when my husband (Gil Forehand) and I attended the 20 year reunion of the Class of ’59 and found Henry had married “Fred” (Winifred) who had grown up in Haynesville, LA, with my husband. They attended school together and attended the same church. As Billy Miller said, Henry was the glue that held our class together in the years after graduation. Winnie, if we miss Henry so much, I can’t imagine what it must be like for you and your family. Prayers and hugs for all of you. (Frances) Ellen Hemphill Forehand
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Henry was a very smart kind man and family man. A God Loving Man. My association with him was minimal but I coached his Daughter in fast pitch softball and she is one girl I will always remember having had the pleasure of knowing and coaching and you could tell that He and Winnie were great loving parents and Cheryl and I extend our deepest sympathies to his family. May God give you the comfort only he can give. Donald and Cheryl Davis
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I worked with Henry at the refinery and was more than once the benefactor of great tickets to an Astros game because of his inside source! I will always have fond memories of knowing him
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Henry and I were buddies in our youth. We got our amateur radio licenses in Lake Charles, Louisiana about the same time. We both had a childhood interest in astronomy with the same adult mentors. We attended Louisiana Tech and both played in the marching band. I was relegated to um-pahs on the french horn, but Henry was in his natural leadership position as drum major. He and Winnie met at Tech and were an excellent match right-off.
From there our career paths took us in different directions – thousands of miles away from each other. We stayed in loose contact. We reconnected at the Louisiana Tech 50th Class Reunion last November and had a grand time coming up-to-date. He told me about his cancer diagnosis and we got into closer contact.
Meanwhile I’d gotten active in amateur radio again. Henry knew he should sell off some of his equipment, and I received a nice portable radio set of his last week. I took it to Vermont and made several ham radio contacts with it…. with grandchildren looking on. I’ll treasure the memory of Henry Schneider when using his radio in the future.
I’m only wondering about one thing. Given the nature of the political jokes that Henry sent me, I am surprised we did not receive his instructions on who to vote for… or vote against.
John Wood
K1ZY
Concord, Massachusetts
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Goodbye Henry, always the gentleman and one of my good friends at work. We will miss you.
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Henry was a classmate, but most of all a friend. I will miss the “jokes” in emails he was always sending our classmates. We will all miss him very much. Reunions will never be the same. Chip & I will treasure the dinner group outings in Houston with Henry and the other classmates. Our good wishes and prayers are with Winni and his family. Miss you dear friend!
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Such a loving, caring man. His family is a a testimony to his many abilities and interests. My deepest sympathy to Winnie, Laura, Barbara, and Carl.
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Henry and Winnie were our next door neighbors for 22 years. No one could ask for better neighbors or friends. Then, as time marched on, we moved locally and they moved to San Antonio. But our friendship endured. Henry stamped his personhood on our family. He helped us welcome our baby girl into the world and helped us teach our toddler son that he couldn’t just walk in his door without knocking. Years later he showed the stars to our children through his telescope. We were always welcomed in his home which was filled with wonderful music, butterfly cocoons and ham radio cards on the wall. We enjoyed banter about the Astros and more than a few jokes about the Cowboys. He will be missed by us and many others to whom he was so dear.
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The post is from Linda Overton.
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Henry and I were codrum majors of the La Tech Band and developed a real friendship. I have thought about our band experience a lot lately.
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Henry was a good friend and a devoted LCHS and La Tech graduate. Friendship thru the years with Winni
and Henry will be always a gift. Class reunions will never be the same. Rest in peace my friend. And to you, Winni, stay young and wonderful and stop by when you are in Lake Charles. You know you are always welcome!😍 Myriam
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Martha and family – Henry was the glue that held our class together all these 57 years, and how we miss him already. Your husband, dad and grandfather was the best! Bill Miller, LCHS ’59
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I will always have fond memories of Henry during elementary through high school because of his care and kindness to all plus his great wit. He was a wonderful person
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Mary,
This is Billy Miller. So sad about Henry. Hope to see you. We live in Lafayette.
Best, Billy
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We may not have been kin by blood but we sure were family in our hearts. Henry was a unique & intelligent person who always made me laugh with his quick wit & dry sense of humor. I really don’t know two people who are more compatible than Winifred & Henry….I have admired their loyalty & love for each other & their family my entire life. He & Winifred faced this cancer head on & tried to learn as much as they could in the few short months since he was diagnosed. Winifred, I know this journey has not been easy for either one of you, but you were a wonderful caregiver & wife. I know that Henry appreciated you more than you will ever know. We all love you, Laura, Barbara, & Carl & feel grateful to have been part of Henry’s life.
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Henry always told me how much he loved celebrating his and my mom’s May birthdays in choir. He looooved teasing her and giving her a hard time about her being “older” because her birthday was “first,” lol. He was always the jokester. I love imagining their Heavenly reunion – I’m sure there were some sarcastic comments involved!
Henry will be greatly missed. He was so loved. Hugs to your family. Don’t forget how much we love all of you.
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Henry was always so kind to me and I loved his sense of humor. I will remember his as one of the dearest members of my church family—a friend in Christ. My deepest sympathy to the entire family.
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I am so sad to hear of Henry’s passing. He was funny and very knowledgeable about a lot of things. I met Henry and Winnie at Sunset UMC in Pasadena. Henry was in my Sunday School class and we enjoyed wonderful funny conversations. When our class moved from the two story building to the church parlor, I claimed a high back winged chair and he would kid me about being the queen. I also became friends with him on FB after their move to San Antonio. I will miss his funny sense of humor and his friendship. My heart and prayers are with Winnie and his wonderful family. May God grant you peace and comfort in the days ahead.
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I knew Henry at sunset umc I never knew what he was going to tell me he had more funnies story about work are anything he always made me smile and laugh when I .He was truly a funny man and live his life like god wanted him to. My heart and prayers go out to Winnie and the kids I really thought the world of Henry R I P Henry my Friend
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Henry’s earthly journey is over but he lives in so many people’s hearts. It’s obvious that those memories are cherished by his family and friends. Praying for all your family during this time of loss.
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I remember Barbara placing her hand on Pops head and saying, “You know what this is? It’s a hair sucker…and it’s starving!”…and he just smiled and kept doing what he was doing. I also remember talking clarinet and music in general with him and his love for Ham radio – he showed me how he did Morse code and it was so impressive. But most of all I will always remember his sarcastic humor (and Winnie’s matching dry humor) and the wonderful combination of that mixed with the hubbub and the stream of kids coming in and out of the Schneider home. It never felt chaotic. Felt like another warm place to feel safe, loved, laugh a lot and drink Kool-Aid! There was always Kool-Aid! I will miss him so much and I hurt for the family. You are all so loved and in our prayers.
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I remember Henry full of spunk and life and love. He loved Laura (and Barbara and Carl) and Laura loved her daddy.
He visited the church I pastored I think ” to check me out” and I loved the thought and the fact he did it. A beautiful smile and spirit.
Thanks be to God for the life of Henry Schneider.
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Wonderful tribute of a special man who was and is loved by all his family.
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I always loved talking band stuff with Henry. He would always talk about how great a clarinet/bass clarinet player he was. Then one day out of the blue he emails me and says he wants to learn how to play trombone, so I loaned him my beginner trombone. I don’t think it lasted to long because I got it back within a few months. You will be dearly missed. Until we meet again my friend.
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If you can measure a man by the love of his family and their capacity to love others then this was a truly great man! And really funny! He will be missed by many.
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It’s really hard to believe how quickly we lost him. We’re going to miss him so much.
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