Donald "Don" Schoen

Donald R. (Don) Schoen, age 70, of Denmark passed away Wednesday, September 21, 2016. He was born Oct. 16, 1945 to the late Merle and Antoinette (Jean) (Mancheski) Schoen in Preble, WI. He attended Preble High School and enlisted in the Army Reserves for six years, from 1965-1971. Don married Pamela Kronforst on July 15, 1967, at St. James Catholic Church in Cooperstown. They started out their married life in Two Rivers where he managed The Library bar and later moved to Denmark where they raised their 5 children. Survivors are his wife of 49 years, Pam Schoen, Denmark; their 5 children, Donald J. (Erika) Schoen, Green Bay; Laura (Keith) O'Donnell, La Crosse; Rachael (Brian) Hoffmann, Darboy; Steven (Marcie) Schoen, Green Bay and Joseph (Breanne) Schoen, Isanti, MN. Along with his children, his grandchildren were his pride and joy. They are August Schoen; Lily and Olive Hoffmann; Adeline and Emerson Schoen; Athena, Corinne, Alette and Delphine Schoen. Further survivors are his three brothers Richard (Jayne) Schoen, Dennis Schoen, and Darrell (Karen) Schoen, his sisters-in-law Nancy Kerrigan and Cindy (Dale) Demmin and nieces, nephew. Donald was preceded in death by his parents, his brothers-in-law William Kerrigan Sr., William Kronforst, his sister-in-law Linda Schoen, and his nephews William Kerrigan Jr. and Dale John Demmin. Don grew up (starting at age 5) working on his parent's vegetable truck farm with his older brother Dick and many other people from the area who would become life-long friends. As he got older, he would be joined by his 2 younger brothers, Dennis and Darrell, on the farm. He worked for Copps Department store in Manitowoc for almost 13 years and then delivered newspapers for the Green Bay Press Gazette. This made him a very independent man with a great sense of humor and commitment to do the best he could. Besides his family, his claims to fame were the years he coached the Denmark Community Little League team the Red Birds, and his years of devoted delivery of the Green Bay Press Gazette to Routes 1 and 2 in Denmark. Whether it was a summer deluge or a winter blizzard, Don made sure the papers were delivered. In his final years, Don took pride managing the flowers in the yard. He enjoyed attending any and all sporting events his children, and especially his grandchildren, were involved in. When his sons were younger, Don was busy driving Donny around the state to compete in running events and watching Steve and Joe's baseball games with the Maribel Ponies and Colts and the Denmark Devil Bears. Later in life, he enjoyed watching his son Donny coach the Luxemburg/Casco girls softball team and boys “Run and Gun” basketball team (and then adding his insight after the games). He also enjoyed watching the older grandgirls playing softball in Kimberly and attending his Minnesota grandgirls sporting events. And of course there were the plays and concerts he couldn't miss. Family and friends may visit at Cotter Funeral Home-Denmark Chapel, on Tuesday, September 27, from 4-7pm, where a parish prayer service will conclude the evening. Visitation will continue on Wednesday at All Saints Catholic Church in Denmark, from 9:30 am until 10:45 am. Mass of Resurrection will be celebrated at 11:00am Wednesday with the Rev. Kevin Ori officiating. The family would like to thank Dr. Verma, Amber and Jean at Fox River Dialysis and the team at Vascular Interventional Radiology. These people helped Don not go gently into that good night, they helped him fight against the dying of the light. Flower gardening was his passion, so in lieu of flowers, plants would be appreciated to help keep his memory alive. The best gift of all would be prayers for Don.

Reception:
All Saints Catholic Church
145 St. Claude St
Denmark, WI 54208