Jeanette Schroeder

Jeanette Ruth Schroeder, age 97, passed away on Sat., March 29, 2025, having resided at Brookdale Assisted Living in Winona, MN, for 3 years. She was born on July 7, 1927, to Herbert and Esther (Fredrich) Wittchow in Lebanon, WI. A fragile baby not expected to live, she was baptized immediately. She attended 8 grades in one-room schoolhouses in Lebanon and Ixonia, WI, excelling in spelling and reading, and was confirmed at Cross Lutheran Church in Ixonia.

Her family later moved to Watertown, WI, where Jeanette attended vo-tech until age 16 and held several factory jobs there, and for one year in California, including installing rivets on metal airplane parts--a real “Rosie the Riveter.” In addition, she worked at Northwestern Prep School and Bethesda Lutheran Home in Watertown, and for a summer at a resort in Boulder Junction, WI. She also routinely helped her sister with the care of her 6 children in the 50’s and 60’s. She vacationed to sites like Niagra Falls and Yellowstone Park with her parents during this time as well.

On June 1, 1968, Jeanette married Elgar Schroeder at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Watertown and the couple settled on the Schroeder family angus farm in Arlington, WI (near Madison). They were very active members of the United in Christ Lutheran Church in Morrisonville, Wi, with Jeanette in the ELCW, a women’s group, as Sunshine Card Lady, and a Sunday and Bible School teacher. They had one daughter, Dawn, who moved to Winona, MN, for college and remained there.

In 1995, the couple moved to Winona to be near Dawn and husband, John. Jeanette became a member of Faith Lutheran Church in Winona, active in the ELCW there. After Elgar’s death in 2000, she became a volunteer at the Winona Senior Center, playing bingo and attending senior movie days. To her great delight, she became a first-time grandma at age 76 with the birth of Alex and then welcomed Gavin 5 years later. She enjoyed attending their school and hockey events.

The sunshine of our home, Jeanette was a passionate gardener (especially perennials), quilter, embroiderer, and Christmas cookie baker. She also sold crafts, produce, and collectibles at flea markets in the Madison and Winona areas for over 30 years. She and Dawn travelled to Mexico, Jamaica, Washington D.C., VA, FL, TN, and Hawaii (John and Alex on this trip too).

She is survived by daughter Dawn (husband John Charles), and 2 grandsons, Alex at WSU, and Gavin at WSHS. She is preceded in death by her husband, parents, sister Lucille Rupnow in 2015, infant brother, and a nephew, Russell Rupnow, in 1986.

Thank you to Amy, Lisa, and their staff at Brookdale, and to St. Croix Hospice for their compassionate care of Mother and Grandma.

Jeanette will be cremated per her wishes and there will be no service. Burial will be at Hillside Cemetery in Poynette, WI, at a later date.