Richard Lee Schrader, 74, of Greeley, died Saturday, August 3, 2019 at Fairacres Manor in Greeley, Colorado. He was born on July 18, 1945 in Grinnell, Iowa, to Cecil Raymond and Lucille Helen (Speck) Schrader.
Raised on a farm in Victor, Iowa, he graduated from HLV High School in 1963 and from the University of Iowa with a Civil Engineering Degree in 1968. On December 18, 1966, he married Beverly Marie Wiedemeier at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Victor, Iowa. They had known each other since they were 8 years old.
In 1968 they moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming, and then to Fort Lewis, Washington, where Richard entered the Army from 1969 – 1971 during Vietnam. Afterward, they moved back to Cheyenne where he worked for the Highway Department designing bridges. In 1978, the couple moved to Sheridan, Wyoming, where he was employed with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) until he retired in 1999, after 31 years with the State of Wyoming. Richard and Beverly retired to Greeley, Colorado, where Richard designed their handicap accessible home.
Though Richard was born with a degenerative condition, spinocerebellar ataxia, he had a passion for fitness and living life to the fullest. He especially loved bicycling and rode the RAW Ride (Ride-Around-Wyoming—350 miles) five consecutive years 1990 – 1994. The couple enjoyed multiple trips to the Caribbean with close friends and also enjoyed attending Denver Broncos Football Games and Colorado Rockies Baseball Games.
Richard is survived by his daughter, Jody Legg (Emery Legg) of Golden, CO; son, Clinton Schrader (Monica Schrader) of Weddington, NC; grandchildren, William and Reagan Schrader; sister-in-laws, Ann Schrader and Lois Winegarden; and many loving nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife of 50 years, Beverly Schrader, his parents, his brother Herbert Schrader, and his sister Maxine Schrader.
Memorial Service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, August 17, 2019 at Trinity Lutheran Church, 3000 35th Ave, Greeley, Colorado 80634.
Donations in Memory may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project or Trinity Lutheran Church, in care of Stoddard Funeral Home, 3205 W. 28th Street, Greeley, Colorado 80634.
