Steve J. Schroeder

Steve J. Schroeder, 69, of Bellevue died Thursday, June 16, 2022 at his home. Funeral Mass will be 11:00am Thursday, June 23, 2022 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Bellevue. Visitation will be Wednesday, June 22, 2022 from 4:00pm-7:00pm at Hachmann-Mier Funeral Home & Cremation Service in Bellevue. Burial will be in St. Joseph’s Catholic Cemetery in Bellevue. Steve was born July 15, 1952 in Wellman, Iowa, the son of Charles and Myra (VanNostrand) Schroeder. He graduated from Iowa State University, and was an avid Cyclones fan, after graduating from college Steve found his roots in Bellevue as the new Agricultural teacher for the Bellevue Community School District in 1977. He joined the district in January, after an extremely harsh winter closed the schools down for weeks. He shared fond memories of meeting his new students in the middle of the school year, and how they were shocked they had a new AG teacher. Steve taught at the school for over 43 years, he absolutely loved what he did and the students he taught. He enjoyed taking everyone along for livestock judging and Envirothon Judging, and he never excluded you because of where you went to school. Andrew students, Marquette students, he treated them all equally and very much enjoyed FFA/4-H family he had helped create in the community. He raised his 3 children; Kieran, Charity, and Chris in the community where for years they showed cattle at the Jackson Co. Fair and Iowa State Fair. Steve with his children farmed outside of Bellevue for many years. One of the highlights of Steve’s life was his grandchildren, he loved watching them grow and always took the time to teach them how to plant a garden, plant flowers, and to educate them on the important values of life and how to cherish family and to be a good person to everyone. Though out his years teaching, he touched many lives, he never gave up on any student and saw potential success in everyone. In 2021, he retired, past and present students saw him off with a school parade to honor his years of service, which met a great deal to him. He never met a stranger, and he was willing to help all kids succeed in life, it didn’t end with high school, he continued following up/ check on and visit with students who long since graduated. And he never turned down a golf game either. The day prior to his passing, he played in the annual AG teacher golf tournament. His dream was to one day play Pebble Beach in California, he would always quote “I’m not good enough to play there, but I’d still like to.” His family certainly hopes he is playing there now. To continuing honoring his memory and the values Steve had for his past students, the family plans to start offering a scholarship starting next year, this scholarship will be offered to one student from Bellevue High School and one student from Marquette High School, he loved both schools dearly and he would want to continue to help the students he loved to teach about agriculture and judging. Survivors include his children, Charity (Brian) Crist of Bellevue, Chris Schroeder of Bellevue, and Kieran (Mercedes) Carter of Patterson, CA; 12 grandchildren, Maddi, Jaina, Steven, Charles and Henry Crist, Leelan Schroeder, Adrian (Candice) and Carlos (Marissa) Ramirez, Patrick Anguiano, and Natasha, Gabriella, and Kiera Carter; siblings, Sandra (James) Hotchkiss of Washington, IA, and Doug Schroeder of Denver, CO; numerous nieces and nephews; and his past students, as “Mr. Schroeder” thought of them as his extended family. Steve was preceded in death by his parents; and several aunts and uncles. In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established in Mr. Schroeder’s memory for a High School Scholarship in Bellevue in his memory. Online condolences may be expressed to the family at www.hachmannfuneralhome.com