Phyllis Schoonover dies at 87
Phyllis Schoonover age 87 of Fredericksburg, died Monday, Oct. 23, 2017, at Hillcrest Home in Sumner.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017, at Holy Family Parish, New Hampton with Rev. Brian Dellaert and Msgr. Carl Schmitt concelebrating the Mass. The pall will be placed by Phyllis's four sons. The lectors for the Mass will be Briann and Alecia Schoonover, and Phyllis's two daughters, Becky Scott and Lisa Herold with be presenting the gifts.
Interment will be held in St. Mary's Cemetery, New Hampton with Michael Schoonover, Jeffery Schoonover, Richard Schoonover, Bradley Schoonover, Dennis Herold, and Todd Scott serving as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers are Phyllis's nine grandsons, Darin Schoonover, Corey Schoonover, Spencer Schoonover, Bronson Schoonover, Maxwell Schoonover, Justin Herold, Jacob Herold, Jayson Herold, and Jackson Scott.
Friends may greet the family 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017, at Hugeback - Johnson Funeral Home in Fredericksburg. Visitation continues and hour prior to the Mass at the church in New Hampton on Thursday.
Phyllis Marie Schoonover was born in Colfax, Iowa, the daughter of Orville and Esther (Brummond) Yearling. She received her elementary education at St. Mary’s Catholic School and graduated from New Hampton High School in 1948. She was united in marriage to Wilbur Schoonover on January 30, 1950, and they were the first couple to be married in the new St. Mary’s Catholic Church in New Hampton. They celebrated 49 years of marriage together before his death in 1999.
Prior to her marriage, Phyllis worked many jobs including at Kemps Grocery, Flegers Bakery, J.C. Penney’s, and Weatherman’s Sandwich Shop. She also worked as a secretary for county attorney Clem Smith and as a bookkeeper for the Mark Eischeid Contracting Company. During her marriage, she was a homemaker and helped her husband with the Schoonover family farm. Phyllis was also a correspondent for the New Hampton Economist and Tribune for eight years, where she used her love for talking to sell newspaper subscriptions and write the local news.
Phyllis was known for her smile and contagious laughter, her near-daily card playing, her passion for family history, and her cooking skills, which are a family tradition. She loved making quilts and memory books for her grandchildren, crocheting, hunting for antiques with her husband, talking on the phone to her many relatives and friends, and reading. She also often said that she blazed the trail for her seven younger sisters.
One of her favorite memories was traveling to California and being on “The Price is Right” where she met Bob Barker and won the grand prize showcase showdown, including her minivan, which she still drove. Her family always knew not to call or interrupt her when she was watching her favorite show.
Phyllis is survived by her six children, Michael (Paula) Schoonover, Sumner; Jeffery (Cindy) Schoonover, Richard (Diane) Schoonover, and Bradley Schoonover all of Fredericksburg; her two daughters, Lisa (Dennis) Herold, Austin, Minn; and Rebecca (Todd) Scott, Iowa City; sixteen grandchildren, Jennifer Gott, and Darin Schoonover; Corey Schoonover and Britnee Ramirez; Brianne, Alecia, and Jalon Schoonover; Spencer, Bronson, and Maxwell Schoonover; Justin, Jacob, and Jayson Herold; and Madison, Kennedy, and Jackson Scott; and seven great-grandchildren including Seger and Sawyer Gott; Owen and Olyvia Schoonover; Ben and Isabel Ramirez; and Bradley Herold. She is also survived by her seven sisters, Alice Konig, Allison; Jane Urness, St. Paul, Minn; Betty Swenson, Plainfield, Ill; Dianne Polacheck, Mesa, Ariz; Patricia Ackley, Fredericksburg; Mary Yearling, Omaha, Neb; and Nancy Wegner, Fredericksburg; and numerous nieces, nephews and their children.
Preceding her in death were her husband, Wilbur; her parents; a son, Lee Patrick; three grandsons, Shane Schoonover, Landon Schoonover, and Tyson Scott; and her stepfather Emil Barta.
