Obituary of Doris Schneider

Doris (Seeboth) Schneider of Edina, MN died on May 29, 2023, at the age of 98. Born on Labor Day in 1924 and leaving this earth on Memorial Day, Dori knew how to fill every day with creativity, lifelong learning, and productivity. An executive secretary in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Dori married E. Carl Schneider in 1954. Carl was an engineer, who managed a division of Kimberly Clark in Windom, Minnesota. Dori moved to join Carl. She quickly adapted to rural life and forged lifelong friendships. While she raised three daughters, she also tended to a large vegetable garden and rescued injured animals from geese to squirrels. She had a keen interest in nature, which she passed on to her children and grandchildren with her collections of butterflies, rocks, lichen, feathers, animal skulls, and shells. She bequeathed to her daughters the gifts of curiosity and confidence.

Dori was proud of her degree in Business Administration from Marquette University, and she amazed her husband with her archival talents, bookkeeping skills, and incisive investment strategy. She also took pride in hosting Carl’s business associates from around the world, who referred to her gourmet wild game dinners and her parenting skills as “perfect.” Dori preferred to read American and world history, and her prodigious vocabulary made her a formidable Scrabble player and a lifelong crossword solver. She was a talented pianist and seamstress. Her quick wit won her many friends, and her organizational skills made her a valued volunteer.

Among her civic engagements, Dori served on the Board of Directors of the American Lung Association for twenty years. She was a director of the Association of Marquette University Women; served on the Windom Library Board; worked as a tireless fundraiser for a foreign exchange student program; taught at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church school; and volunteered at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. She also helped establish the Busy Bee Nursery School in Windom.

Dori is survived by Heidi Schneider (Joel Mintzer), Kate Schneider, and Maria Schneider (Mark Righter); grandsons Asher Mintzer (Samantha Freeman) and Isaac Mintzer (Lauren Vein); German exchange son Stefan Mielck; beloved nieces and nephews; her extraordinary caregivers Esther Ngugi and Joenita Grant; and friends at Brookdale Edina, in Windom, and around the world. Donations may be made to the Cottonwood County Historical Society (cchs@windomnet.com) or BARC (barcwindom@windomnet.com).  A memorial is being planned and will be announced at a later date.