Robert Schacherer

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Funeral services for Robert Schacherer, 79, of Estherville, will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022, at St Patrick’s Catholic Church, Estherville, with Father Paul Kelly officiating. Interment will at St. Patrick’s Catholic Cemetery, Estherville with military rites by VFW Post #3388 and American Legion Post #91.

Visitation will be held from 4-7 p.m., Friday, Aug. 12, 2022, with a vigil service at 7 p.m., at the Henry-Olson Funeral Home in Estherville.

Summing up anyone’s life in a few paragraphs is an impossible task, but we’re assuming you know the main ideas. Robert Anthony “Bob” Schacherer was born August 30, 1942, the son of Ted and Grace. He was a 1960 graduate of Terril High and proudly served in the US Navy. Came home. Went to college. Worked at Sears. Became a farmer. But those details aren’t what defined him…

These things are:

Bob loved his wife. Bob was introduced to his soulmate Jan (Kuhn) by his sister Nancy who attended The Saint Joseph Mercy School of Nursing with her. They hit it off instantly, both the fifth of eight children, both from devout Catholic farm families. They married in 1965 in Kinglsey, Iowa. Over their 56 years together they raised three children and faced enormous challenges, yet they rarely disagreed and never fought. After his farm accident in 1988 their relationship moved to another level. Jan’s lifetime of nursing allowed them to make an impossible situation possible, and through her caring devotion and their strong relationship, Bob thrived when others might have withered. His accident may have broken his body, but it made him an even better person. More patient. More understanding. More emotional.

Bob loved his friends. If you were Bob’s friend, you understood that he would do anything for you. Wiring a house, pouring cement, fixing a tractor. He lived to serve, and one of his greatest joys was being needed. To figure out a problem, to offer advice, to take on a project together and to have a laugh or two while doing so. Long before people spoke of “love languages,” Bob’s language was service. It led him to volunteer with the Knights of Columbus, serve on various boards and committees, and even “work” at Blum & Leonard in his later years. He loved that job, and would have done it for no pay, simply for an excuse to be among friends and chat with farmers.

Finally, Bob loved farming. It defined his life. It was his passion. He farmed with his brothers Bill and Jim for many years, and later with his nephew Jerome (who shared a birthday with Bob, was born the day he returned home from the Navy, who saved his life once and saved the day countless times). His relationship with his brothers was truly special…three strong men who each brought different skills to bear, but all shared the work ethic that their father had instilled in them. They spent a lifetime of long days working together, and they meant the world to him.

Bob is survived by his loving wife Jan of Estherville; three children: Laura (Jeff) Arensdorf of Ankeny, IA, Mike (Kära) Schacherer of Saint Louis Park, MN and Brian (Lindsey) Schacherer of Ankeny, IA; six grandchildren: Mikka, Ethan, Ella, Zachary, Sam and Abby; siblings James (Janet) Schacherer of Estherville, IA, Theresa (Parviz) Ghazi of Oakdale, MN, Nancy (Ron) Schieuer of Sioux City, IA, Rose Lea (Gordon) Tonderum of Spencer, IA, Joe (Rita) Schacherer of Knoxville, IA and many nieces, nephews and friends.

He was preceded in death by his daughter Mary Jane (who died at birth), his parents, his brother Bill, and his sister Joan Swanson.

Dad’s wheelchair wasn’t the symbol he almost died 34 years ago…it was the symbol he lived. He loved his chair and the freedom it gave him to have the life he wanted.

That’s why, in lieu of flowers, our family requests donations to a charity that was close to Dad’s heart, The Knights of Columbus Wheelchair Mission, which works to supply chairs to those in need both here and abroad.

Donate at amwheelchair.org/donate or send checks payable to KofC Council 2021 to Cody Newgard, 418 Central Avenue, Estherville, IA 51334.

Online condolences may be left for Bob’s family at HenryOlsonFuneral.com