James T. ”Jim” Schneider, 68, of Dayton, died on May 11, 2016, from injuries sustained from a vehicle / bicycle accident blocks away from his home.
Jim was born in Cincinnati, on Aug. 17, 1947 to the late Harold L. and Mary E. (Loftus) Schneider. He married Betty Jo Sacksteder on Sept. 25, 1976 and she survives him.
Jim and Betty were making plans to celebrate their Fortieth Wedding Anniversary this fall.
Jim was raised in Fairborn and was a member of the first graduating Class of Carroll High School, Dayton. The Class of ’65 began the history of CHS as freshmen in 1961. Jim attended Miami University, Oxford. Jim was born and raised Roman Catholic, but in his 20s found himself searching for a deeper connection to his Creator. He dropped in to a Pentecostal church and answered an altar call.
He started hanging out with the evangelical types and with them, he found a deeper, closer relationship with the Lord that Jim had been seeking. Although Jim knew that he was never going to be a Pentecostal follower of the Lord, he found a home within the Charismatic Renewal movement in the Catholic Church.
Jim worked the majority of his life at The University of Dayton as a programmer. He was retired from U.D. after 25 years. Following retirement, Jim then took the advice of several friends and obtained his Master’s Degree in Information and Library Science, which he loved.
He has been working and thoroughly enjoying his position as a Reference Librarian at the Dayton Metro Library System. Jim described a librarian’s knowledge as “A mile wide and an inch deep!” He got great satisfaction in his job and working with people to find answers to their questions.
Jim was a member of the Liederkranz-Turner Club, Dayton and sang in Der Männerchor (Men’s Choir). Jim and Betty volunteered for many years at the Dayton and Dublin Irish Festivals. Jim enjoyed playing games from his youth, cajoling his siblings into board games with him. That fascination stayed with Jim the rest of his life.
He loved to attend large gatherings of gamers where he could find others interested in playing marathon length games such as Advanced Civilization. He was an audiophile, loving Celtic and Baroque music in particular. In the recent years, Jim and Betty took advantage of their retirement years and traveled to Ireland, Austria and Germany. He was a member of the Cancer Support Community.
In addition to his wife, Betty Jo, Jim is survived by his two sons: Thomas E. Schneider and Kelly Anneken, of Oakland, California, John J. and Kristine Schneider, of Dayton; his three brothers and two sisters: Rick and Vickie Schneider, of Lancaster, Mark Schneider, of Crestline, Joseph Schneider, of Spring, Texas, Mary and Bob Winfree, Sr., of Fairborn, Julie Schmidt, Tampa, Florida; his brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Vince and Detsy Sacksteder, of Dayton, Mary and Jim Costanzo, of New York, New York, Ronni Sacksteder and Jane Harper, of Dayton, Nick and Edie Sacksteder, and numerous nieces and nephews and great nieces and great nephews.
The family received friends Sunday, May 15, 2016 at The Westbrock Funeral Home, 1712 Wayne Avenue, of Dayton.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, May 16, 2016, at Our Lady of Grace parish, Corpus Christi Church. Burial will follow in Calvary Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to The American Cancer Society, 2808 Reading Road Cincinnati, Ohio. 45206.
