Gail Arden Schneider (August 4, 1946 - May 12, 2011)
Gail Arden Schneider, 72, died Sunday, May 13, 2012, at St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit. She was born in Detroit to Jane and Richard Zimmerman and graduated from Wayne State University in 1962.Mrs. Schneider was a stay-at-home wife and mother who dedicated herself to family, friends and the community in which she lived. She married Dr. John R. “Jack” Schneider April 20, 1963. In her nearly 50 years of marriage, Mrs. Schneider was a loving wife, proud parent of three and cherished grandmother of seven.
Mrs. Schneider also was a tireless volunteer. Trained early in life as an occupational therapist, she was dedicated to helping children. This led to her involvement with the Sigma Gamma organization and her service on the board of the Detroit Institute for Children.
In 1992, she received the Katherine Tuck award from Sigma Gamma for her service to the DIC. She also chaired Sigma Gamma’s annual fireworks picnic and was patron chair for the Mistletoe Magic Christmas dance in 2008, which was chaired by her daughter, Kristen.
Mrs. Schneider was a dedicated volunteer at the schools her children attended. She was a trustee and president of the parent’s coordinating council at The Grosse Pointe Academy and served on the school’s advisory board. She and her husband were honorary chairs of the Academy’s Action Auction in 2010. She also served as president of the parent board at University Liggett School.
Mrs. Schneider also loved to garden and served as president of the Junior League Gardeners. She was a member of the Junior League, worked on the Show House many years and chaired its flower boutique.
Her hobbies included gardening, floral arranging, entertaining and maintaining her beautiful home. She loved spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren, at her residence on Lower Herring Lake near Frankfurt, Michigan. She was interested in the natural beauty of the area, as well as the wildlife. She kept scrapbooks of wildflowers and tabs on the birds she’d seen.
Mrs. Schneider is survived by her husband, John R. “Jack” Schneider M.D.; sons, Kurt J. Schneider (Betsy) and Erich J. Schneider (Meghan); daughter, Kristen Schneider Van Pelt (Tom) and grandchildren, Annie, Lily and Dexter Schneider, Kate and Tommy Van Pelt and Jack and Sophia Schneider. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 19, at St. Paul on the Lake Catholic Church, 157 Lakeshore, Grosse Pointe Farms. Donations may be made to Sigma Gamma Foundation, P.O. Box 36373, Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236-0373 or The Grosse Pointe Academy, 171 Lakeshore Drive, Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236