Wayne "Duke" Leroy Schneider
February 24, 1949 ~ January 9, 2020
Wayne “Duke” Leroy Schneider, 70, of Vienna, Virginia, passed peacefully away on January 9, 2020 after complications from Parkinson’s Disease, with his beloved wife, Kathy, at his side.
Duke was born in Jamestown, North Dakota on February 24th, 1949 to Willie and Eldora Schneider. After growing up in Tappen, N.D., the family moved to Turtle Lake, N.D. where Duke graduated from high school. After attending Minot State, he joined the United States Marine Corps where he served from 1971-1979 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business with minors in History and Political Science from Chaminade College, Hawaii. Whilst in the Corps at his last station in Washington, D.C., he met his wife of 42 years, Kathy A. (Fellman) Schneider. After departing the Corps, Duke and Kathy moved to North Dakota starting his decades long contracting career and had their daughters, Melanie and Erika. Upon return to the D.C. area, Duke was a defense contractor at TRW, Northrup Grumman and SAIC. In 1990, he earned his M.S in Management from National Louis University. In his retirement, he enjoyed his time with his family, trips with his wife, entertaining friends, reading his books, watching sports, family dogs, contacting his family in North Dakota and Minnesota through his daily calls and finally welcoming Lilly, his granddaughter into his heart and arms.
Duke is survived by his wife, Kathy, two daughters, Melanie D. and Erika J. Schneider, and granddaughter Lilly Caroline; his sisters, Roberta (Alan) Okerson, Roxanne Moore, brother Rodney Schneider; uncles Randy (Denise) Kemmet, Robert Kemmet, Ronald Kemmet and Curtis Kemmet and many cousins, nieces and nephews to the Schneider and Kemmet families.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Wilfred and Eldora (Kemmet) Schneider.
A memorial will be held Tuesday, July 27, 11:00 am at the Old Post Chapel on Ft. Myer Base. Anyone attending the service that does not have regular access to Ft. Myer needs to get a day pass. Passes may be requested through the following website https://pass.aie.army.mil/jbmhh/. Those attending will need to enter via the Hatfield Gate. The GPS address is 29 Carpenter Road, Fort Myer, VA. All visitors 16 years and older must show a photo ID. Guests are asked to arrive 45 minutes before time of service (arrive at 10:15 am). Interment will immediately follow at Arlington National Cemetery. For those unable to attend, the services will be recorded and made available online at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations are made to the Parkinson’s Foundation.
Duke was born in Jamestown, North Dakota on February 24th, 1949 to Willie and Eldora Schneider. After growing up in Tappen, N.D., the family moved to Turtle Lake, N.D. where Duke graduated from high school. After attending Minot State, he joined the United States Marine Corps where he served from 1971-1979 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business with minors in History and Political Science from Chaminade College, Hawaii. Whilst in the Corps at his last station in Washington, D.C., he met his wife of 42 years, Kathy A. (Fellman) Schneider. After departing the Corps, Duke and Kathy moved to North Dakota starting his decades long contracting career and had their daughters, Melanie and Erika. Upon return to the D.C. area, Duke was a defense contractor at TRW, Northrup Grumman and SAIC. In 1990, he earned his M.S in Management from National Louis University. In his retirement, he enjoyed his time with his family, trips with his wife, entertaining friends, reading his books, watching sports, family dogs, contacting his family in North Dakota and Minnesota through his daily calls and finally welcoming Lilly, his granddaughter into his heart and arms.
Duke is survived by his wife, Kathy, two daughters, Melanie D. and Erika J. Schneider, and granddaughter Lilly Caroline; his sisters, Roberta (Alan) Okerson, Roxanne Moore, brother Rodney Schneider; uncles Randy (Denise) Kemmet, Robert Kemmet, Ronald Kemmet and Curtis Kemmet and many cousins, nieces and nephews to the Schneider and Kemmet families.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Wilfred and Eldora (Kemmet) Schneider.
A memorial will be held Tuesday, July 27, 11:00 am at the Old Post Chapel on Ft. Myer Base. Anyone attending the service that does not have regular access to Ft. Myer needs to get a day pass. Passes may be requested through the following website https://pass.aie.army.mil/jbmhh/. Those attending will need to enter via the Hatfield Gate. The GPS address is 29 Carpenter Road, Fort Myer, VA. All visitors 16 years and older must show a photo ID. Guests are asked to arrive 45 minutes before time of service (arrive at 10:15 am). Interment will immediately follow at Arlington National Cemetery. For those unable to attend, the services will be recorded and made available online at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations are made to the Parkinson’s Foundation.
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We certainly lost a great one! Tom and I will miss him for sure. We definitely will be there at Arlington National Cemetery when you get the date. Rest In Peace, Duke.
Duke and I graduated a year apart but then became roommates in college. He was a great friend in high school and became more of a friend after. Always looked forward to his visits when he came home on leave from the Marines and other home trips with his family. One of my best friends and will miss him. He made a final trip home 2 months ago and we had a great visit just reminiscing. Great friend. Miss you Duke. Marshall
And you to him always
Here is a photo of Wayne taken on 19 October 2019 at Turtle Lake, North Dakota. This was the day of his mother’s funeral. For more genealogical information about Wayne’s ancestors on the Schneider side of his family please go to: https://neugebauer.tribalpages.com/ Bob Neugebauer
Thank you Will definitely save and share
Thank you for sharing this picture of our loving husband, father, and grandfather. I hope he is frolicking pain free in heaven. ??
Duke was a great friend, fellow Marine and mentor. I joined Duke on a program as Subcontract Administrator where he mentored me in the daily workings of a program and how to interact with the PM. Duke always had a great sense of humor and was a fantastic manager. He loved his family and told me to always put family first. Semper Fi my dear friend. /s/Steve Cecil
I worked with Duke many, many years ago. He was willing to take a chance on a 19 year old kid with no experience. He was a great man to work for. He had a great sense of humor. He will be greatly missed.
Duke was my boss, my mentor, and my friend. His sense of humor and timing with his humor was outstanding. I will never forget the time when after a fairly contentious meeting Duke told the deputy PM that if we ever needed a platoon taken out that he (deputy PM) was the right person to get the job done, we just are sure which platoon he will take out. It was funny and true and the message wasn’t lost on that PM. Duke had a way with reshaping our programs focus with his wit, intelligence and experience. I lost touch with Duke over the years and regret that. I assumed there would always be time to reconnect over a beer and chili dog at the Vienna Inn. Duke – thanks for the guidance and friendship so early on in my career. You left a lot of good advice, memories and pearls of wisdom and will be missed.