Jerrianne Schneider

Heaven welcomed the unabashed best hug-giver on Jan. 22, 2021. Just ask any of her five children, seven grandchildren, two siblings or countless other family and friends who enjoyed her happily given warm embrace.
Jerrianne was born Dec. 13,1948 to Jerome and Dorothy (Phelps) Ryan and grew up in Milwaukee with sister Patricia and brother Bill.
Jerrianne earned her bachelor’s at the University of Wisconsin and then a master’s degree in social work, She met her future husband, James Schneider, who was best friend to her sister Pat’s husband, Stephen Lewis. The couples loved and laughed together for many years, living only miles apart while raising their families, which included Jerrianne and Jim’s five children (Jim Jr., Maggie, Dan, Dorothy and Ben).
One of Jerrianne’s happiest places in the world was New York City, where she went on her first road trip with high school best friend, Betzy Hansen. Her subsequent trips looked a little different, including an infamous one where the family tagged along on one of Jim’s business trips and attempted sightseeing in the Big Apple when the children were all under the age of 10. Highlights included Ben’s stroller breaking, Dorothy getting lost and Jerrianne figuring out how to navigate the NYC public transit system.
Most recently, she returned to NYC with Dorothy and granddaughter Ellie for a week of Broadway and sightseeing. She planned to take her other grandchildren on similar travel adventures, and her family hopes to follow through on those trips in her memory.
Equally harrowing was Jerrianne’s ski career. She learned to ski in Illinois at Chestnut Mountain, where Jim also attempted the sport – sporting blue jeans and a severe fear of heights. When it became clear that Jim was better at, and more comfortable with operating on solid ground than skiing, Jerrianne leaned into the sport and spent a couple decades “pizza-ing” and generally “staying upright” with her children and other family. Jim made the chili and best-ever homemade spaghetti sauce, and assisted with sledding adventures. The passion for skiing -- and years of escaping “up north” during the summer -- inspired Jerrianne and Jim to build a home on the side of a ski slope near Upson, Wisconsin, where the family spent time year round.
This created even more opportunities to hear from Jerrianne her catchphrase: “I’ve got a new project.”
It was born of the work it took to perfect the dream vacation house she and family built in Wisconsin, as well as the renovation of their home in Rockford’s historic Churchill’s Grove neighborhood. It’s one of the traits she shared with Jim for so many years. There was no project too big or small in the home, kitchen or elsewhere for Jim and Jerrianne. In addition to feeding a family of seven on a dime for decades, her children will always remember their parent’s Thanksgiving tradition of making pie crust and pies from scratch for the gathering of more than 25.
While dedicated to the outcome of so many children she looked after in her career, Jerrianne took a break to stay at home with her five children in their youngest years. They recognize the different ways she pushed and supported them over the years – whether it was the Saturday morning chore list for accountability or the unwavering certainty she had in their successes as they moved into their own careers and families. The Schneider children’s strength and resilience is a direct result of their parents.
Jim’s untimely and tragic death on February 11, 2000, shocked the family, and Jerrianne became the family’s center, carrying on with her indomitable spirit and nose-to-the-grindstone attitude. By then, she was back at work, continuing a career in social work that had begun in the Chicago housing projects before Jerrianne and Jim moved to Rockford, and continuing in the Rockford Public Schools. Even after her retirement, Jerrianne volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, working in the interests of children victimized by abuse and neglect.
Jerrianne was devoted to her faith and for 43 years she attended St. Peter’s Cathedral. If you didn’t see her in a pew, it’s because she spent many of those years offering her praise from the choir.
Jerrianne’s dedication to her children had no bounds. She had frequent touchpoints with each of them and made a point of trying to reach each child where they needed – whether it was a weekly call or pop-in visits to drop off the extra bananas she’d gotten at the grocery store and just wasn’t going to get through on her own that week.
As the COVID-19 pandemic kept them separate, Jerrianne learned to use videoconferencing to visit with family. This was no small feat since most of her interactions with technology resulted in calls to, and visits from, her son Dan to get things working correctly. But she was not going to miss whatever opportunities she might have to visit with her beloved family. Jerrianne leaves a legacy behind in her children.
She is survived by: Jim Schneider (Jr.) (Sandy Scruggs), who earned his PhD in geology and was assistant director for the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources before joining the Olsson firm a few years ago. Maggie (Chris Remillard) is about to join the judiciary after a career with the U.S. Attorney’s office. Dan (Jennifer Waggoner) is more tactically important than any of the kids as a computer specialist. Dorothy (Brian Wallheimer) worked for a decade in newspaper journalism before finding a new passion in clean energy communication with Exelon Generation. And Ben (Candice) is an engineer at a medical device company working on new technology for heart health – in no small part to recognize the loss of their dad.
Jerrianne is also survived by her sister, Pat (Steve) Lewis, and brother Bill Ryan; grandchildren Alora and Jay Schneider; Mason Schneider; Ellie, Katie and Charlie Wallheimer; and Connor Remillard; nieces and nephews Jason (Genevieve) Lewis, Matt (Liz) Lewis, Alex Lewis, Stephanie and Kevin Ryan; and brother-in-law Carl (Carol) Schneider and nephew Gregory.
She was predeceased by her husband, Jim Schneider, her parents, Jerome and Dorothy Ryan; and her sister-in-law, Susan Schneider.
Simply put, Jerrianne and Jim left the world far too soon. But we will carry on as the children, family and the friends they left behind. We will love and miss them until the days we die. We will honor them with our life and in our success – just as Jerrianne would want.
There will be a Funeral Mass for Jerrianne on Thursday, January 28th, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. at Cathedral of St. Peter, 1243 N Church St, Rockford, IL 61103. A visitation the night before, Wednesday, January 27th, 2021 from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. at Fitzgerald Funeral Home & Crematory, 1860 S. Mulford Road, Rockford, Illinois. Masks and social distancing will be required. Private family burial at Calvary Catholic Cemetery. True to Jerrianne's dedication to her career, in lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the CASA organization, link below. To send online condolences, please visit www.fitzgeraldfh.com

https://winnebagocountycasa.org/ways-to-give/donate.html