Raymond Eugene Schoenfield, an award-winning former teacher and newspaper adviser at Beloit Memorial High School, died Saturday, Feb. 5, in Rockford. He was 86.
Born May 22, 1935, in Huron, S.D., he was the son of Chester and Violet (Coates) Schoenfield. He graduated from Redfield (S.D.) High School in 1953, and went on to attend Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D. After one semester, he joined the U.S. Air Force in 1954 and served until his discharge in 1957.
Schoenfield earned his bachelor’s degree in English and German from Northern State in 1961. He later earned his master’s in English from UW-Madison in 1970.
In 1961, he met his future wife, Joyce Schreiber. They married on June 27, 1964, in Aitkin, Minn., and together they had two children — Peter and Sarah — and four grandchildren.
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Schoenfield started his teaching career at Beloit Memorial High School in 1961 and was named the head of the English department in 1981. Throughout his 36-year career, Schoenfield taught a variety of classes, including German, English, creative writing, world literature, media and journalism.
He also served as the adviser for The Increscent school newspaper. During his time as adviser, the publication earned numerous national awards and was regularly recognized as the state’s best high school newspaper by The Associated Press.
Schoenfield served as state director of the Journalism Education Association and vice president of the Wisconsin Journalism Teacher-Advisors’ Council. His efforts were recognized through several awards during his career, including Wisconsin Journalism Advisor of the Year in 1974 and Wisconsin PTA Teacher of the Year in 1992.
Following his retirement in 1997, a journalism scholarship for Beloit Memorial graduates was established in Schoenfield’s name.
A celebration of his life will be held Wednesday, Feb. 16, at Daley Murphy Wisch & Associates Funeral Home and Crematorium in Beloit. Visitation will begin at 9 a.m. with the funeral service to follow at 10 a.m.
