JOSEPHINE M. SCHNEIDER, 98, formerly of 1532 Drummond St., passed away peacefully on Tuesday, May 6, 1997 at the Clairemont Nursing Home. She was born December 16, 1898 in Prosperity, South Carolina to Joseph L. and Frances (Hoke) May. After graduating from Winthrop College with a degree in music, she studied at the University of Chicago for two years and then taught English in Dixon, IL and Drumright, OK. During the summers of 1921-24 she attended summer school at the University of South Carolina where she met her husband John S. Schneider. They were married June 18, 1928 in Prosperity South Carolina.After their marriage Jo and John moved to Paris, France where she took piano lessons and taught English. They later moved to Wisconsin, where John received his PhD at the UW Madison and Jo attended library school and later obtained her M.S. in Library Science. They moved to Eau Claire where John was a Professor and Chairman of the Department of Social Sciences at UWEC. After raising their family she joined UWEC as Assistant Professor of Library Science and Librarian. After retirement, in her 70s, Jo traveled to Japan where she taught English at Kwassui Women's College in Nagasaki.Throughout her life, Jo was an avid reader of books, enjoyed visiting with her many friends, playing piano, listening to classical music, and later in life became an active scrabble player and took up painting. She was a loyal member of the First Congregational Church and its Senior Fellowship and Women's Fellowship. Jo also belonged to the Wisconsin Retired Teachers Association, E.C. Area Educators Association, the E.C. Women's Club and the P.E.O.She is survived by her son John Hoke Schneider of Chevy Chase, MD; grandchildren, Miriam Krowitz of Vienna, VA; Alexander Krowitz of Lunenberg ,MA; James Schneider of Washington, D.C.; and Helen Schneider of Seattle, WA; two great-grandchildren, Taylor and Rebecca Krowitz of Lunenberg , MA ; and a niece, Frances Jean Leedy of Glen Burnie, MD.Jo was preceded in death by her husband in 1962, a brother Francis "Frank" May of Eau Claire in 1996, a sister, Elizabeth Rast of Eutawville,SC, and a daughter, Mary Jo Schneider Krowitz of Vienna, VA in 1993.Funeral Services will be at 11:00 a.m. Saturday at First Congregational United Church of Christ with Pastor Derril Peabody officiating. Burial will be in Rest Haven Gardens in the town of Washington. Friends may call from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at Lenmark-Gomsrud Funeral Home and one hour prior to services Saturday at the church.The family wishes to thank all those who have supported Jo during these past years. She will be sadly missed by her family and many friends. Memorials may be directed to the John S. Schneider Memorial Fund Foundation (Account 63) at UWEC or to the First Congregational Church of Eau Claire.\r\nFriends are welcome to meet with the family after the service on Saturday afternoon. Those who cannot attend the visitation or the funeral service may contact the Lenmark-Gomsrud Funeral Home for information about exact time and location of this meeting.

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