Frances Eileen (Morrow) Schneider, 101, died Saturday, March 28, 2020 at home.
Born June 27, 1918 in Rankin, Illinois to Stephen P. Morrow Sr. and Regina (Bradley) Morrow, she married Jack M. Schneider December 13, 1944. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, three brothers (Stephen P. Morrow, Jr., Gregory V. Morrow, Sr., and William L. Morrow, Sr.), one daughter, Mary Anne Ahmad, and one grandson, J.W. Schneider.
Survivors include seven sons: Jerome (Mary) Schneider of Mahomet; Mark (Judy) Schneider of Dekalb; Peter (Stephanie) Schneider of Farmer City; Paul (Brenda) Schneider of Champaign; Daniel Schneider of Santa Monica, California; David (Lori) Schneider and John Schneider of Champaign. Three daughters also survive: Sheila Schneider and Therese Schneider (Lawrence Kessler), both of Champaign, and Julia Schneider of South Bend, Indiana. In addition, she is survived by 27 grandchildren, 48 great grandchildren, and 5 great-great grandchildren.
There was a private, family-only graveside service at St. Mary's Cemetery, Champaign. A Memorial Mass for all to attend will be planned later.
She moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1936, where she worked at the Spiegel catalog company in the billing department from 1936-1942, rising to the level of supervisor. She joined the civil service in 1942 as a civilian Morse code instructor at Scott Field in Belleville, Illinois. She trained radio operators, bomber mechanics, and other airmen in taking and sending code until she married her husband (a former student) in December 1944, in Wichita Falls, TX. They lived in Cincinnati, Ohio and Hoopeston, Illinois prior to moving to Champaign in the early 1950s.
While raising her family of eleven children alongside her husband, Frances also managed her own businesses, including F. Schneider and Sons Sanitary Hauling. She became a travel agent in the early 1980s as a founding partner of Gateway Travel, Inc.
Frances was a member of various charitable and fraternal organizations throughout her adult life, working tirelessly to further the pro-life cause at the local and national levels. She was a member and former treasurer of the Catholic Daughters of America Court #1070 of Champaign-Urbana, the Provena-Covenant Auxiliary, Holy Cross Parent-Teacher Club, Birthright of Champaign County, and a member of Holy Cross Parish, Champaign for more than 65 years. She was a member of the Champaign-Urbana Welcome Club, in addition to other bridge clubs and groups. She took active part in founding or contributing to community organizations like a suicide-prevention crisis hotline for youth or the Champaign County Democratic Women’s Club Thrift Shop. She served as an alternate delegate to the 1976 Democratic National Convention.
Never afraid to learn something new, Frances excelled at intellectual and creative pursuits from a young age. She was a regular player in local bridge groups by age twelve. An accomplished pianist, she played organ and sang at Holy Trinity Parish in Rankin while still in high school. Frances was Valedictorian of Rankin High School’s Class of 1935 and attended classes at DePaul University while living in Chicago. Her thirst for learning continued in myriad ways throughout her life up to her 100th birthday, including taking Irish language and culture courses at the University of Illinois, participating in a creative writing course online at Parkland College, teaching herself html so she could create a geocities website, and teaching her grandchildren how to play Nintendo video games.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Holy Cross Parish, St. Matthew Parish, or a pro-life organization of the donor’s choice.
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