Linus Richard Schroeder

August 14, 1943 — August 6, 2026

Linus R. Schroeder, 82, of Havre, Montana, died August 6, 2026. He was born August 14, 1943, in Lima, Ohio, to Linus William Schroeder and Josephine (Krenek) Schroeder. In 1948 the family moved west to Bloomington, California, and five years later to Fontana, where Linus, his sister Joann, and his brother Bob attended St. Joseph’s Catholic School. He graduated from Fontana High School, then from Chaffey College with an associate degree and his Aircraft Airframe and Aircraft Engine licenses — credentials that took him to San Francisco and a position as an aircraft specialty mechanic with United Airlines.

In 1964, at the age of twenty-one, Linus married June Marie Ray in Las Vegas, and the two settled in San Jose to raise a family. He liked to say that one year brought him a new job, a wife, a three year-old son, and his first home. That son, Larry, later took the Schroeder name. Linus was the only father he ever knew.

In 1972, inspired by his good friend Clarence Castor, Linus left aviation for the road and became a truck driver. The work moved the family to Newark, California, for three years and then, in 1977, to Selah, Washington, where he built and ran his own trucking company until his retirement.

Linus and June were married fifty-two years, until her death in April 2017. They had bought a winter home in Maricopa, Arizona, in 2012. Around 2020 an acquaintance invited him up to Havre, Montana, and it took: an avid fisherman who liked the feel of a small town, he bought a house and built a shop for his toys and his tinkering. In May 2026 he sold the Maricopa place and made Havre home for good.

Raised Catholic, Linus went to Mass every weekend, wherever he happened to be. After a quadruple bypass in the mid-2000s he turned to a healthier life and walked ten to fifteen thousand steps a day, every day. He was not one for crowds, but he made friends easily — at the dog park, on his walks, at the parish fish fry. Mostly he was a man in motion, always with something to do and somewhere to be. His grandchildren will remember the question that came before any job got started: Do you want to do this the right way, or Grandpa’s way?

He was preceded in death by his parents; by his wife, June M. Schroeder; by his son, Philip L. Schroeder (March 1, 1965 — April 19, 2020); and by his daughter, Theresa Jo Schroeder (February 26, 1966 — July 23, 2002).

He is survived by his son Larry Schroeder and wife Amy of Maricopa, Arizona; his daughter-in-law Dana Schroeder; his grandchildren Brian Schroeder and wife Jessica of Stockdale, Texas, Bradley Schroeder of Oceanside, California, Matthew and McKenna Schroeder of Maricopa, Arizona, Lauren Schroeder of Yakima, Washington, and Ryan Schroeder of Selah, Washington; his great-granddaughter Emily Schroeder of Yakima, Washington; his great-great-grandsons Henry and Toby; his sister, Joann Soo of Oceanside, California; and his brother, Robert “Bob” Schroeder of Oceanside, California.

A service will be held Saturday, October 3, 2026, at 10:00 AM at Keith & Keith Funeral Home in Yakima, Washington, with graveside services to follow in Selah.