Dennis Hubert Schroeder

He is preceded in passing by his former wife, Jane Ilean (Zacher) Schroeder; infant son, Baby Boy; parents, Hubert and Sadie Schroeder; siblings, Leslie Schroeder and Teresa Kluver; grandson, Daniel Miller; great-granddaughter, Grace Rhine, and numerous other family and friends. Dennis is survived by his beloved wife of 30 years, Patricia (Amacher) Schroeder; children, Cheryl (James) Basile, Michael (Gail) Schroeder, Duane (Laura) Schroeder, Jeffery Schroeder, Thomas (Kari) Schroeder, Vicki (Bill) Hansen, Jeffrey (Jackie) Amacher, Cheryl (Donn) Miller, Colleen (Kevin) Groves, Andrea (Craig) Walters, Linda (Curt) Mann; 31 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandson on the way; sister, Ellen Blonigen; brothers-in-law, Keith (Diana) Sodren, Darrel (Mary) Sodren, Gary (Sue) Sodren; and many family members and friends.

He was born on his family’s farm in Willow Lake Township in Southern Minnesota on April 10, 1934. He graduated in May 1951 from St. Anne’s High School in Wabasso. His family and friends would chuckle at his senior yearbook description, which says he is “the argumentative type, but since he is somewhat slow of speech, he usually loses to his fellow arguer. However, he often gets in the last word.” It also says, “his classmates all attest to the fact that he is one big tease.” His family and friends will affirm that he retained these traits throughout his life!

After high school, he worked for two years as a repair technician for a large canning factory in southern Minnesota. In December 1953, he joined the U.S. Navy. While in the Navy, he attended boot camp and fire control technician school at the San Diego Naval Training Center and then joined the Naval repair ship USS Delta (AR-9) and later the USS Ashtabula (AO-51) ultimately being promoted to the rank of fire control technician 2nd Class (FT2). During his Navy service he made two deployments to the Western Pacific Ocean and was forward deployed to the US Naval Base in Sasebo Japan for a few months. He was on active duty in the U.S. Navy From December 1953 until August 1957.

Dennis received an associate’s degree in television repair and communications at DeVry Technical Institute in Chicago, IL. He later majored in engineering at the University of Minnesota and was hired as an aeronautical technician at Honeywell International, Inc. He met Jane Zacher, and they married in 1959. Over the years Dennis and Jane had five children. In the early 70’s, he and Jane moved from Fridley to St. Francis, where they established a vegetable farming business while he worked as an aeronautical engineer at Honeywell. Denny retired from Honeywell in the early 90s.

He was dedicated to his family, and especially involved in his sons’ activities while they were growing up. He was a hockey coach and regularly attended high school football, wrestling and track events. Denny was also an active leader in the Boy Scouts, serving as a troop leader for many years. He enjoyed numerous local camping weekends with his sons and week-long trips to Many Point Scout Camp and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northern Minnesota and Philmont Scout Camp in New Mexico. Throughout his involvement with scouting, he trained and mentored many boys and adult volunteers. He received the Boy Scouts’ highest volunteer recognition, the Silver Beaver Award. His four sons are Eagle Scouts.

After Jane passed away in 1989, he served as a moderator in a grief support group, where he met Patricia (“Pat”) Amacher. As they talked, they discovered some amazing coincidences: Both lost their spouses due to brain aneurysms around the same time. Denny’s family included five boys and one girl; Pat’s family included five girls and one boy. They both had daughters named Cheryl and sons named Jeff. One of Jane’s friends had also been a friend of Pat’s, even Pat and Jane had grown up in different areas of Minnesota and had never met. Throughout their many years of marriage, Denny and Pat continued to uncover many other similarities.

Denny and Pat married in 1993, creating a blended family of 11 children. It was important to them to retain each family’s traditions while creating new ones. One example: They kept the Amacher legacy of owning a cabin near family and friends on Lake Lipsett near Spooner, WI. The Amacher children had spent many weekends and summers at the lake while growing up. Denny and Pat wanted to continue building these memories for their new family. Denny especially loved teaching his grandchildren how to fish when they were young.

When Pat’s daughters discovered their new dad’s unique sense of humor, they found numerous ways to joke with him. They teasingly called themselves his “chicklets.” Denny and Pat enjoyed attending their grandchildren’s sporting events, dance recitals and plays, traveling, and playing card and board games with their children and grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, at Church of St. Timothy, 707 89th Ave NE, Blaine, MN. Mass begins at 11 am with visitation one hour prior. Luncheon to follow. Interment will take place at 3 pm at St Pius X Catholic Cemetery in Zimmerman, MN.