Donald E. Schroeder, who in the 1970s served as sports editor of the (Cedarburg) News Graphic, died Saturday, Oct. 31, at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Va. He was 86.
Schroeder was born Nov. 15, 1933, in Milwaukee to Emil Carl Gustav Schroeder and Helene Adeline (Vollbrecht) Schroeder. He grew up in Milwaukee and graduated from Milwaukee Riverside High School in 1952.
After earning his bachelor’s degree in physical education from UW-Madison in 1956, Schroeder served two years of active duty in the U.S. Navy as a radioman and communications technician in Japan.
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He married his first wife, Dona Jean Passehl, in 1958. Together they had two sons — Douglas and Jeffrey — eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
In 1959, Schroeder began his career as a teacher and coach, roles he would serve in for 22 years. From approximately 1967 to 1980, he also worked for the News Graphic, including a stint as sports editor.
In 1980, Schroeder and his family moved to Indianapolis, where he started a sports photography business, which he sold in 1994.
Following his wife’s death in 1998, he married his second wife, Betty Ann (Bogue) Dunkin Schroeder, in 1999. Betty and Don moved to Venice, Fla., in 2001, and following her death in 2017, he moved to Virginia to be closer to family.
A private burial will be held at Sarasota National Cemetary in Sarasota, Fla.
