Aunt Betty Schield's obituary

Our cousin David Schield sent me this obituary for his mother that is going to run in the Marshfield News Herald on Dec. 23. As it indicates, services for Aunt Betty will begin at 12 noon on Jan. 4 in Neillsville. Services for Uncle Bud will begin at 5:00 p.m. Jan. 3 at Immaculate Conception parish in Milwaukee. It's a lot to take in over just two days but having family around will make it work. Best wishes to all of you this Christmas.

Robert Mullins

Elizabeth Maureen “Betty” Schield - Dec 14, 2011.

Elizabeth Maureen “Betty” Schield, 91, formerly of Neillsville, passed away on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011 in North Bay Hospital in Port Richey, Fla., with her husband by her side. Services will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2012 at St Mary’s Catholic Church in Neillsville, with a visitation starting at noon, followed by a funeral Mass and celebration of her life at 1 p.m.

Betty was born on Feb. 1, 1920 in Milwaukee, the second oldest of six children of Charles and Bridget McCorry. While working as a secretary at Marquette University, she met her husband of 69 years, Dr. Carroll Schield. Together they raised a family of seven children in Neillsville, where Dr. Schield practiced dentistry from 1946 until 1984. They moved to Florida in the mid-1980s, returning each summer to the family cottage in Hatfield, Wis., until recently when travel became too difficult for them. They have been residents of the Regency Independent Living facility in Port Richey, Fla., for the past six years.

Betty was a long-time parishioner of St Mary’s Catholic Church in Neillsville, where she volunteered for many tasks, including 16 years as a high school Catholic education teacher. She treasured her children, grandchildren, and now great-grandchildren, always looking forward to family gatherings at the cottage, traveling to her children’s homes in various states, and visits in Florida from family. She was an avid reader with a thirst for knowledge, demonstrated by her desire to improve her computer skills up until her passing.

She is survived by her husband, Carroll; children, Patricia (Jay) Werth of Santa Rosa, Calif., Dr. Dan (Roberta) Schield of Neillsville, Wendy Smail of Boulder, Colo., Joseph Schield of Petaluma, Calif., Mary Alice Schield of Sonoma, Calif., Jim (Shawn) Schield of Arlington, Va., and David (Rebecca) Schield of Middleton; 12 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. She is also survived by three sisters, numerous nieces and nephews, and countless friends and acquaintances.

Her devotion, kind and generous heart, determination and love for others are traits we all can admire and remember.

A memorial fund has been established in her name with the American Diabetes Association.

Services for Uncle Bud

To All,
THIS POST HAS BEEN EDITED FROM WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED.

You can read an obituary about Uncle Bud Jonas on JSOnline.com, the Web site of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. It says there is a memorial service set for 5:00 p.m. CST on Tues. Jan. 3, 2012, at Immaculate Conception Church, the Jonas family's longtime parish in Bay View. There is also a brief obit about Aunt Betty Schield on the Website of the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times. UPDATE: Wendy (Schield) Smail tells me they are not going have a joint service with Bud on the 3rd, although we hope some Scheilds will be in attendance. Instead, they will have a separate service for Betty Jan. 4 in Neillsville. Those plans are being firmed up so stay tuned. If you have any news to share about the services or your remembrances of Bud and Betty, please comment below this post, send me an e-mail or send me a message through Facebook. My posting of the Christmas Letter yesterday generated 71 page views. Thanks for reading. Again, my best wishes to all of you.

McCorry Family Christmas Letter 2011

To All,

It’s been a tumultuous week leading up to my writing this year’s Christmas Letter and I’d been looking over my notes of weddings, births, fun vacations and other family news. Then, as the saying goes, “life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans." Events took a sharp turn on December 13 when our beloved Uncle Bud Jonas left us at the age of 88, leaving behind 9 of his 10 children, multiple grandchildren and his wife of 64 years, our Aunt Teresa. Just hours later, early on December 14, we lost our dear Aunt Betty Schield, age 91, leaving behind her seven children, many grandchildren and her husband of 69 years, Carroll. As my sister Tricia pointed out, Teresa lost her husband and one of her sisters in a short time, just as my mother, Mary, lost her husband and brother – George Mullins and Dan McCorry – just two days apart during the Christmas holidays in 1993.

Aunt Betty from Jan. 2011

As always, the Bible offers comfort at these times:

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to[it]myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.”-- John 14:1-4

I offered reminiscences about Uncle Bud and Aunt Betty here and invite others to offer their comments below. The important thing to remember is how the two of them influenced the person that each of you have become and to thank them for that. My cousin Sarah Jonas wrote this on her Facebook page of Bud: “He had a dry sense of humor, he loved his wife, he worked hard and he liked to compete. He was an athlete, a teacher, a writer, an artist, a father & brother. He was generous and so very kind. He was my Dad.”

Bud Jonas and son-in-law John T

As troubling as these events have been, 2011 was also a rewarding year for the Jonases, Schields, Mullinses and McCorrys as well. Click here to view a slideshow of family photos.

It started off in January with Pat (Schield) Werth welcoming her second grandchild, Daniella Angele, on Jan. 12. Her parents, Megan and Nino Rabbaa, already have a daughter, Juliana. Nino, who already owns Rendez Vous Bistro in Santa Rosa, plans to open a second restaurant there early next year. Pat’s son Justin also works there and Justin’s Uncle Joey Schield works in the office. Mary Alice has her own place in Sonoma. Pat and her husband Jay Werth took time off from their grandparenting duties to visit Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

David and Becky’s daughter Jessica Schield and her boyfriend Josh Reeves, had a girl Aug. 23, Rian Kaela -- Rian is the Irish female spelling of Ryan -- in Maui where they live and where Jessica manages a restaurant. David Schield has bought a marketing company and is no longer working out of his home, but has to get dressed to go to work, says his sister Pat!  David’s son Jeff has just moved to Chicago where he is a personal trainer and daughter Grace is at the University of Iowa playing soccer as well as studying.

Dan and Bobbi Schield went to visit their son Michael in China last spring, especially enjoying Hong Kong.  Their daughter, Emily, after graduating from University of Wisconsin-Madison, moved to Portland, Ore., and works for Milwaukee Tool.  Miranda works for Veolia Environmental Services in Chicago.  Dan’s sister Wendy joined Jay and Pat for another visit to Paris this summer, including taking in the last leg of the Tour de France.

 

Paris also drew Jane (Jonas) and her husband John T. Williams in October; they also traveled widely throughout France, including Provence and Versailles as well as the required Paris stops of the Louvre and Eiffel Tower. Jane’s son Jonas Shaner continues his job as a nurse in San Diego and son Luke continues his architecture career in Minneapolis. Jane was impressed that Luke, at a party he threw, made French fries on the grill and baked two deep-dish pies from scratch – one apple, the other blueberry.

Marypat (Jonas) Groth says her son Jeremy wed Krystal Polakowski July 9 at Renaissance Place on Milwaukee’s east side. At the reception, the crowd danced to the music of Five Card Studs, Paul Jonas’s band.

Brian and Betsy McCorry welcomed a new grandchild this year when daughter Lizzie and her husband, Phil Koesterer, welcomed son Philip Joseph Koesterer V into the world Nov. 5th, although Grandpa Brian says he is going to go by "PJ." Meanwhile, son Patrick and his wife Erin are expecting their first child in the spring of 2012. Both couples married in 2010. Maureen (McCorry) Drabik reports that her mother, our Aunt MaryAnn, is doing well, still living at the Sunrise Senior Living Community in Willowbrook, Ill. MaryAnn doesn’t use a computer much anymore but Maureen got her an Apple iPad and, after some one-on-one training, does get some use out of it. BTW, I read the late Steve Jobs’s biography on a Kindle app on a Google Android tablet computer I own, which means I read all about the Apple genius without using any Apple products. I asked friends, “Does that make me a bad person?”

My sister Betty made quite an accomplishment this year, self-publishing her book “Don’t Let Down,” a work of fiction based on the experiences of our parents at St. Matthews parish in Milwaukee during World War II. You can order the book on Authorhouse.com and they will print a copy for you on demand. The book is available on Amazon.com as a hardcover or softcover book and as a digital version to read on a Kindle. You can also order it online at BarnesandNoble.com, including an e-reader version for the Kindle Nook. Also, this year, Betty took our nephew Casey George Mullins to New York City to, among other things, take in a performance of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” starring Daniel Radcliffe of the “Harry Potter” film franchise. Yours truly played the role of “Office Boy” in the production of “HTSIBWRT” at Wauwatosa East High School in 1971 (wince).

Erin Freer (right) on graduation day

Bill Mullins is now a contract technical writer for Disney in Los Angeles, Kathy Gesley still works at a cystic fibrosis clinic in Palo Alto while her daughter Maureen lives with brother Brendan in Berkeley; their brother Sam also lives nearby. Maureen invited us to a fundraiser for Bilingual Education for Central America (BECA) in San Francisco in November. It’s a cause Maureen supports because of her work teaching in Honduras while she was earning her degree in International Studies from UW-Madison. Mary Mullins still works at Mader’s restaurant in Milwaukee while her daughter Lizzie graduates from high school in June. I still live in Oakley with my loving – and very patient – sister Tricia, as I continue freelance technology writing while looking for fulltime employment. Tricia’s daughter Erin graduated from the Christian Simpson University in Redding, Calif., with a BA in General Ministries and is currently interning at a church community support program in Connecticut. Joe returned to the bar business this year taking a job at a place called Barnicle Bud’s in Bay View. Tricia and I will be spending Christmas Eve again with Eileen in San Francisco dining at The Fairmont and taking in a Christmas Mass at Grace Cathedral.

Jonases visiting the nuns in Chicago

The nuns are doing well living at Provena McAuley Manor in Chicago and enjoying the occasional visit from relatives such as niece Jane, nephew Jim Jonas and the nun’s sister Teresa Jonas. Like many of you they are still trying to get used to the new liturgy for a Catholic Mass that went into effect on the first Sunday of Advent. Among the changes, instead of saying “one in being with the Father,” you say, “consubstantial with the Father,” which to me means many of the faithful will likely take out their smartphones during Mass to Google/Bing the word “consubstantial.”

Special thanks go out to this year’s contributors to the letter, including Pat Werth, Maureen Drabik, Brian McCorry and Betty Mullins. Here's another link to that slideshow of more family photos that I think you’ll enjoy. Again, my condolences to the family and friends of Aunt Betty and Uncle Bud who will both be missed. I hope having family around you during the holidays will make those losses easier to bear.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Robert Mullins

Two Deaths in the Family

Amidst the joy of the holiday season is a strong mix of sadness today as I have to report the passing of both Uncle Bud Jonas and Aunt Betty Schield. The details are still coming in as I write this post but from what I’ve heard, Uncle Bud died last night in Milwaukee, having been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer just a few weeks earlier. Aunt Betty died at the retirement home at which she and Uncle Carroll have lived for several years in Port Richie, Fla.

This double dose of sad news is reminiscent of the holidays in 1993 when my dad, Uncle George Mullins, and Uncle Dan McCorry died on Dec. 22 and 24, respectively. I hope for all of you that as you gather together for Christmas this year that you remember all of them and especially gain mutual support from your loved ones.

For Uncle Bud (pictured here with his son-in-law John T. Williams), I remember the tradition of the annual Toilet Bowl on Thanksgiving Day. Bud was not just the referee and coach but emcee of the awards ceremony back at the house on Wentworth Street where he needled various players, but always included a prayer at this important family gathering. Bud was 88 when he died, worked for many years at Ladish Co. in Cudahy and was married to Aunt Therese McCorry for 64 years.

A remembrance of Aunt Betty (pictured here on her husband Carroll's 94th birthday) wouldn’t be complete without a mention of Never Never Land, the Schield’s cottage outside Neillsville. We had loads of fun without the expense of an entry ticket to Disneyland. I remember my mom and Aunt Betty busy preparing lunch in the cottage kitchen, serving it to all of us kids, and then promptly getting to work preparing dinner. I remember swimming in the creek and boating on Lake Arbutus.

Thanks to Marypat Groth for the photo of her dad and to Pat Werth for the photo of her mom.

I’ll update this post with new information as I get it and will prepare the 2011 Christmas Letter to post and mail out this weekend. Feel free to comment here with your memories of Uncle Bud and Aunt Betty.

Love and condolences to you all.

Robert Mullins