Obituary of Gale Schoelerman

A funeral service for Gale Schoelerman, age 92, of Lake Park, will be held Monday, January 20, 2020 at 10:30AM at Concordia Lutheran Church in Lake Park. Burial will be at Pleasant View Cemetery in Hartley. Visitation will be on Sunday, January 19th from 3:00-5:00PM at Turner Jenness Funeral Home in Lake Park. Gale Nicholas Schoelerman was born on May 24, 1927 in Hartley, Iowa, to Nicholas and Helen Schoelerman. He was baptized on October 12, 1930. Early photos show a toddler with a grin on his face and mischief already in his eyes. He went to grade school in Everly, Iowa and graduated from Sioux Valley High School in Sioux Valley, Minnesota. As a schoolboy and a young adult, he had a lively circle of friends. When he married his high school sweetheart June Detlefsen, the local paper ran a headline referring to the “popular young couple” who wed on December 15, 1946. They were married for 73 years. In the early years of their marriage, Gale and June farmed north of Round Lake, Minnesota, and began a family, raising Gary (born 1947), Craig (born 1950), and Debra (born 1953). In 1956, after ten years of farming, they left the farm and moved their family across the country to San Jose, California. There Gale worked at the Ford assembly plant, worked at IBM, sold real estate, and eventually started a 27-year career with Farmers Insurance. Gale’s family was active in Mt. Calgary and Mt. Olive Lutheran Churches in San Jose. In 1987, Gale retired, and moved with June back home to Iowa, settling in Lake Park. He immediately got involved in the community. He was an active member of Concordia Lutheran Church. He was chairman of the utility board. He was on the senior housing board, the Lions Club, and one of the founders of the ROMEO Club. He was active in Lake Park’s centennial celebration in 1992. In 1994, Gale was honored as the Lake Park Chamber of Commerce honorary Citizen of the Year. Gale’s life was not without heartbreak. His son Craig died in 1978 in a boating accident at the age of 28. But Gale also knew the joy and companionship of many friends and a growing family. He was deeply proud of his children and grandchildren. His son Gary married Marelle Yongue. Gale’s daughter Debra married Mitchell Keadle, and had three children, Matthew, Gregory, and Kevin, and, eventually, five great-grandchildren, Cooper, Carter, Penelope, Sierra, and Maya. He took his grandchildren on road trips, supported their education, and cradled their children in his arms. Late in his life, he was known to get down on the floor to play at eye-level with his great-grandchildren. In his later years, Gale and June split their time between Lake Park, Iowa, and Thousand Palms, California, with many visits to their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren along the way. Gale’s legacy lives in them now. Gale loved to visit, play cards with friends, tease anyone and everyone and loved life in general. Gale passed away January 13, 2020 at the Lake Park Care Center at the age of 92 with his family by his side. Gale is survived by his wife, June Schoelerman; two children, Gary (Marelle) Schoelerman and Debra (Mitchell) Keadle; three grandsons, Matthew (Christina), Gregory (Stephanie), and Kevin (Michelle) Keadle; and five great-grandchildren (Cooper, Carter, Penelope, Sierra, and Maya). He has two sisters, Janell Swam and Janet Geisler and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by one son, Craig Schoelerman, and his parents, Nicholas and Helen Schoelerman. Gale will be missed by his family and many friends in San Jose, Thousand Palms, California and Lake Park, Iowa.