Agnes Jeanette Schuster

Agnes Jeanette Schuster, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and faithful servant of her community, peacefully passed away on December 10, 2025, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, at the age of 92. Born on July 8th, 1933, in Stratford, WI, Jeanette Becher, the 11th of 12 children, was named in honor of the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, of which her sister, Sister Marita, was a member.
Jeanette attended Stratford schools and was a devoted pen pal to those of her brothers serving in WWII. She worked in the family's store, the Becher's Ice Cream Parlor, where she developed a lifelong sweet tooth, sampling penny candy and stealing cookies from the backstock. Devoted to her family and her faith, she was a proud Godmother to many nieces and nephews, a role she cherished.
After high school, she worked in data entry for Roddis Co. in Marshfield, WI. There she honed her Keypunch Operator skills, in which she took great pride all her life. In her later years, she told fond stories of the women she worked with during her years at Roddis.
Jeanette Becher married Tony Schuster on June 8, 1957 and lived with his family on their dairy farm in Bakerville, while still working at Roddis. She would say that the milk check just covered the cost of purchasing feed for the cows and that they really lived on her income. When Tony learned that they were expecting their first child he sold off his part of the farm and the young couple purchased an 8X40 foot 2 bedroom mobile home - a Marshfield, made in Marshfield! They lived in Marshfield while Tony had various jobs with Figgies and his brother-in-law's feed mill. Jeanette worked at Roddis until the birth of her first child, Becky, in 1958 when she became a stay-at-home mom and her skills budgeting money were honed.
In October 1958, Jeanette and Tony, towing their mobile home, moved to Phoenix, AZ and a year later settled in Santa Clara, California, close to her brother Roman and his young family on the west coast. Jeanette, already mother to Becky, gave birth to Bart (1960), Bert (1962), and Beth (1965). As her own family grew, she found ways to generously support children and education; volunteering in school libraries, classrooms, and Catechism classes. Tony, Jeanette, and the kids moved to Campbell, California in 1972, settling down for the next 25 years. She also served many roles as an officer in the Young Ladies' Grand Institute (YLI) at Saint Lucy's church where she embraced charity and love. She developed leadership skills, built lasting friendships, and served the parish and larger community.
Jeanette became a master of making her monthly budget stretch to the last penny. She was an excellent shopper; using coupons, shopping the sale ads, and buying in bulk before Costco even existed. Getting a basketful of groceries for pennies was a highlight for her. She'd relish in telling of the great deals and how she had to talk to the store manager when she was overcharged. Over time she earned a full set of serving dishes by clipping newspaper coupons and once floored a car salesman when she bought a new Oldsmobile - with a coupon!
Settled in California, Jeanette worked hard to stay connected to all her family, including those still in Wisconsin. She traveled often, went home for funerals, camped in Groveland and the Arizona desert in the camper, and even taught her two oldest children to drive during solo-parent road trips back to Wisconsin. Her trunk was famously packed with California's bounty, including homegrown lemons, walnuts, and honey which she generously shared with family back home.
After several years as a stay-at-home mother and perennial volunteer, Jeanette returned to data entry in 1967, working for Santa Clara County. There she worked using the same machines that she had trained on in Marshfield years earlier. The irony of a small town in Wisconsin having the same machines as Silicon Valley was not lost on her. She worked every shift - graveyard, swing, and finally days so her younger children didn't need daycare. Her potluck German Potato Salad was legendary in the office. She finished her career working for Animal Control after 26 years at Santa Clara County, retiring in 1993.
After retiring she filled her time with acts of service, volunteering at the Sacred Heart (San Jose) food pantry. After selling their home in Campbell, they temporarily moved to their property in Topock, AZ. While there she got acquainted with Saint Vincent de Paul (SVdP) in Needles, CA before settling in Star Valley, AZ in 1997.
In Payson, Jeanette was a member of St. Philip's Catholic Church and served as a greeter and eucheristic minister, often taking communion and food to the home-bound. She was an active member in the Mystical Rose Sodality. For many years she served coffee and doughnuts after mass, and created a strong community within St. Philip's.
Jeanette believed strongly in helping those in need, and was a long-time board member of the Payson St. Vincent de Paul, and was very proud of her work as Membership Chairperson. She and Tony helped found the food bank at St. Philip's Church and volunteered many hours each week. She was a buyer for them and knew how to follow the ads and match coupons for the best deal. She donated thousands of pounds of apples and peaches from her orchard and produce from her garden. For many years she gleaned bread from the Orowheat distributor, spending her afternoons delivering it to families around Payson. To many, she was simply known as 'The Bread Lady'.
After the death of her husband in 2003, she turned one of her oversized empty garages into the beginnings of the SVdP thrift store. She collected furniture, bedding, and clothing donations for those in need. She performed many years of home visits assessing clients needs and going back home to find that special thing they needed. Nothing went to waste with her around. She would outwork her children and grandchildren when they visited.
For several years after Tony's death, she hosted the widows' thanksgiving for the single women in her neighborhood, always finishing the meal with a minimum of two types of pie and ice cream. She found comfort in the Payson Cancer Support Group and it later helped her accept the death of her oldest son, Bart, in 2012.
Jeanette was also a member of the High Country Garden Club where she was the meeting hostess, making coffee and setting the table. She loved entering flowers, produce and her jams in the Gila County Fair and took pride in the ribbons she won. She even donated her trailer for use in the town parades and often rode on the float.
Always a letter writer, she collected cancelled stamps for many years. She would spend hours cutting out stamps while Tony drove the motorhome on their long cross-country drives to and from family visits. Later she had everyone she knew save postage stamps for her so she could send bulk shipments to the Postal History Museum in Tucson, AZ for art, education and exchange with other hobbyists.
She sponsored several children's elementary and secondary education in foreign countries while continuing her letter writing and learning geography. She was grounded in the belief that the needs of the most vulnerable should come first.
In later years, she organized annual family gatherings in Marshfield, WI. For several years the night before the gathering, we would meet for supper and pie - a desert that always needed ice cream. Often, she would schedule the gatherings to coincide with her older brother's birthday. Jeanette and Phil were united in faith and frequently wrote or called one another for, or to be, support after the loss of each of their spouses. Jeanette had a close bond with him until his death in 2021, and she loved her annual invitations to crash the Becher Bash in Winona, MN. She enjoyed seeing people gather and worked the best she could with ever-changing technology to stay connected with family.
In 2022, at 88 years old, she moved to North Fond du Lac, Wisconsin where she enjoyed her new home and 2 years later, her 90th birthday bash. She moved into St. Francis Terrace, then the last year of her life she resided in St. Francis Home. She chose St. Francis because two of her older sisters had also lived there and she felt a sense of belonging. Daily mass in the chapel gave her peace. She was connected to family to the end, passing peacefully with her niece Louise Bowen beside her and her Christmas tree lighting the room.
Jeanette is survived by her children, Becky Flint, Bert (Judy Drewien) Schuster, and Beth (Tom) Slate; a daughter-in-law, Roxanne Schuster; three grandchildren: Chris Flint, Eric Flint, and Suzanne Flint; her sisters-in-law Elaine Becher, Bertie Becher, Jeanie Becher, Alma (Morrie) Laessig; a brother-in-law Ervin Stangl; along with a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends in Wisconsin, Minnesota, California, Arizona, and beyond.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Ed and Bertha Becher; all of her siblings: Magdalen (Louie) Bowen, Sister Marita Becher, CSA, Leo (Connie) (Det) Becher, Mary (Walter) Werner, Walter Becher, Roman (Lorraine) Becher, Al Becher, Florence (Roman) Theurer, Joan (Sylvan) Spiegelberg, Phil (Snooks) Becher, Tom Becher; and her son, Bart Schuster.
Jeanette's funeral will be held on January 6, 2026 at St. Francis Home chapel at 1:30 PM. A visitation will take place from 12:30 until time of service, and later in summertime a celebration will be held in her hometown of Stratford, Wisconsin. She will be laid to rest at Corpus Christi Cemetery, Bakerville, next to her husband and son Bart.
She lived the seven corporal works of mercy as she fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, clothed the naked, sheltered the homeless, visited the sick and imprisoned, and buried the dead. So in memory of Jeanette, please consider a donation of your time or money to Saint Vincent de Paul or your local food bank.