Leonard Eugene Schroeder was taken into the arms of our heavenly Father amidst peaceful slumber on April 30, 2022, at the age of 82.

Leonard's grandparents were first generation German immigrants who came to the United States for a better life. He was born in McAllen, in the heart of the Texas Rio Grande River Valley, to Reine Schroeder and Elise Riske, and grew up in McAllen and Walburg, Texas.

Leonard graduated from McAllen High School in 1956 and joined the United States Air Force, wherein he served his country with honor.

He returned to McAllen where he would soon meet a woman named Shari Darr, to whom he would marry and spend the next 59 years of his life, until Shari's death in 2020. Leonard and Shari began their family in McAllen and soon moved to Portland, on the Gulf Coast of Texas, where they would complete their family while spending 51 years of their life together. During their marriage, they were blessed with four children: David, Larry, Mark and Katy.

Leonard and Shari would eventually move to Andover, Kansas in 2017, where they would live out the final years of their lives with their son Mark and his family. In Andover, they would go on to join the Metro East Baptist Church and form dear friendships with numerous men and women who brought comfort and vibrancy to their lives. For Leonard in particular, the men's group, Retire Old Men Eating Out, or ROMEO for short, became an ongoing source of joy and camaraderie.

Leonard spent a life dedicated to God and family, and was the very definition of family man through and through. He used the virtue of hard work, learned from his parents, to always do what it took to provide a good home and livelihood to his wife and children, whether it took working two jobs at a time or, if needed, 80 hours a week. Leonard and his wife Shari further committed themselves to saving money to eventually pass inheritance to their children, even as they at times went without - all the while their children as adults pleading with them to spend their money on themselves.

Leonard is survived by his son Larry Schroeder of Austin, Texas; his son Mark Schroeder and wife Jennifer Rettig Schroeder of Andover, Kansas; his daughter Katy Schroeder of White Rock, New Mexico; his grandchildren, who include: Hannah and her husband Jonathan Barton of Fort Dodge, Iowa; Holly and her husband Zach Longhofer of Andover, Kansas; Elizabeth and her husband Ari Aviles of Santa Fe, New Mexico; Ruth Schroeder of Andover, Kansas; Sam Schroeder and wife Alexa; and Moyra Lashley of White Rock, New Mexico; along with his precious great grandchildren who include: Benjamin Barton; Laurie Longhofer; and Sarah Barton. Leonard is additionally survived by his brother Roland Schroeder of Georgetown, Texas; his sister Marilyn Frieling of Charlotte, North Carolina; numerous nephew and nieces; and many cousins throughout the country.

Leonard is preceded in death by his beloved wife, Shari Darr Schroeder; his eldest son David Schroeder; his father, Reine Schroeder; his mother Elise Riske Schroeder; and his brother Harlan Schroeder.

Memorial service will be held at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 7, 2022 at Metro East Baptist Church and for those not able to attend in person will be broadcast at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82069704486.

Please plan to use your video and audio connection when joining zoom conference and remain on mute unless you are actively sharing.

In the paraphrased words of English priest, Henry Scott Holland:

Death is nothing at all...

I have only slipped into the next room...

Whatever we were together, that we are still...

Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together...

I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner.

All is well...nothing is lost...