Clara Irene (Humphreys) Schneider was born on March 15, 1921 in Lane County, Oregon, grew up in Cottage Grove, Oregon as a member of the Church of Christ, and passed away January 9, 2022 at the age of 100 in Humboldt County.

Irene met her husband, Stuart, caring for his sister Pauline in Lorane, Oregon. She earned a degree at a business school in Portland before marrying Stuart in 1942 in Boise. They were married for 66 years until he passed away in 2008. They moved to Humboldt County about four years after they were married and lived in Maple Creek, Orick, and Trinidad before settling into Blue Lake where they lived most of their lives together. He and Irene had four children, Ellen, Edie, Eddie, & Kathy. Irene had sweet nicknames for each of them: Little Nell, Weedie, Hambone, and Kitten. Her kids have fond memories of her reading to them in front of a warm fireplace. Edie loved it when Irene took them to the beach after school in Orick to play and make s’mores or to Maple Creek to search for wild lady slipper orchids. Ellen recalls building a fort in the willows by the swamp in Orick and her mom letting her go to the fort to read when it rained. Kathy fondly remembers her mom taking her to all of the Disney movies each time a new one was released in the theaters.

While raising her family, Irene had many talents, hobbies, and leadership roles in the community. Irene worked as the bookkeeper for her husband’s company, the Stuart Schneider Logging Company, and she loved the time she spent working at the Simpson Nursery in Korbel. She was a Cub Scout Leader, a Girl Scout Leader, and a Room Parent. Irene and Stuart enjoyed taking the family to Reno where they would give silver dollars to their kids whenever they got a jackpot. She loved gardening, canning, cooking, sharing her recipes, trout fishing, clamming, bird watching, chocolate milkshakes, See’s candy, and she was a champion bowler. Irene’s specialty was delicious boysenberry jam that she made with the fresh boysenberries from her backyard. She played the piano by ear and was a talented yodeler. Everybody knew when the Schneider children needed to come home because Irene’s high-pitched yodeling could be heard for blocks. She enjoyed Yahtzee, mystery novels, reading the newspaper, playing card games, and was unbeatable at Scrabble. Pinochle was the lively card game of choice at large family gatherings. Irene enjoyed watching and reading about her favorite baseball team, the San Francisco Giants. In an occasional letter to her daughter Kathy, Irene would include what she called a “love pat” and give her $10 to get herself some flowers. She enjoyed animals and had many pets over her life including ducks, mynah birds, cats, dogs, and chickens. Her much-loved cat Groucho passed away just days before she did. Children were always eager to visit Irene because she would keep a full candy jar or Oreo cookies for all to enjoy. Irene lit up with a big welcoming smile whenever one of her cherished family members paid her a visit. Stuart called her “Grinner”.

Irene treasured her life-long friendship with Stuart’s sister, Kay Brundage. Irene and Stuart always made sure they lived close to Bill and Kay and their children Eric and Tom. The families spent a lot of time together and Irene and Stuart even shared a 50th wedding anniversary celebration with Bill and Kay. The Schneider and Brundage cousins continue to remain close.

Irene was a great lady, warm, smart, faithful, and kind. She left a substantial void in the lives of a large family when she passed from this life into the next one. She is dearly missed.

Irene is survived by her beloved daughters Anita Ellen (Schneider) Gaethle, Kathryn Eloise (Schneider) Wysong, and Edith Luise (Schneider) Wohland, her son-in-law Klaus Wohland, and daughter-in-law Arlene (Larson) Schneider. She was preceded in death by her mother Grace Harlow in 1997, her son Stuart Edwin Schneider in 2003, her husband Stuart George Schneider in 2008, and her son-in-law Frank Gaethle in 2021.

She loved all her eleven grandchildren and their partners including Heather & Jason Beam, Nicole & Troy Block, Greg Gaethle & Monique, Kevin & Julie Gaethle, Rick & Rachida Gaethle, Cara Wysong Orusso & Jesse Orusso, Michele Schneider, Lynde & Mark Windbigler, Genevieve Wohland, Sean & Amanda Wohland, and Michael Wysong.

She adored all her twenty-six great-grandchildren including Alexis, Whysper, Jakob, Ivan, Jaxon, Addie, and Molly Beam; Trey and Taylor Block; Jessica Gaethle; Shelby, Trent, and Uriah Gaethle; Zachery & Joshua Gaethle; Bear, Roman, & Ava Orusso; Samuel, Havalah, Eliza Jane, Aidah, and Nitzah Windbigler; Zane, Sydney & Hunter Wohland.

Additionally, she had treasured nephews, nieces, cousins, great-great-grandchildren, caretakers, and friends that were all very dear to her heart. A special thank you goes out to Ellen Gaethle who made it possible for Irene to live out her final years at home with the amazing help and support of her daughter-in-law Julie Gaethle.

A celebration of Irene’s life will be held Saturday, March 12, 2022 at Ocean View Cemetery in Eureka at 11 a.m., followed by a reception at Ellen Gaethle’s home in McKinleyville.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to the Northern California Division of Sierra Pacific Furbabies in honor of Irene’s love for animals. Thank you. (707) 441-9502 or this link.

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