Kenneth E. Schoen

Kenneth Edward Schoen was born August 27, 1926 at rural Gladstone, Nebraska the third of six children and the first son born to Edward John August Schoen and Mary Louise (Miller) Schoen. He died December 17, 2019 in Lincoln at The Arbors. He attended rural school near Gladstone, then Fairbury High School. After his family moved to Saunders County, he graduated from Valparaiso High School in 1944. He continued to assist his father on the farm. On June 6, 1948, Ken was united in marriage to Ruth Anne Barry at the First Presbyterian Church in Wahoo. Five children were born to this union. They lived their first year of marriage at Valparaiso, then moved to Ruth Anne's parents' farm at the Malmo corner west of Wahoo in 1949, where they operated as a team, farming until retirement in 1991. They built a house in Wahoo where they lived until they moved to Lincoln to the Legacy Terrace in 2011, then to The Arbors in 2017. Ken served his church and community through participation in many organizations. He was four months shy of being a 70 year member of First United Methodist Church of Wahoo where he served on many committees and leadership positions. Ken also worked at the district and conference levels of the church. Along with Ruth Anne, they were Nebraska Conference Young Adult Presidents. He was a founding member of the Site Council (then Board of Directors) of Camp Fontanelle, and served many years on the Board, including several terms as chairperson. Ken was secretary of Nebraska Methodist Camps, Incorporated. He was East District Lay Leader and in 1994 was recognized as the Lay Person of the Year of East District. Ken was a member of the District 44 School Board for 22 years and was secretary of the Board many of those years. Ken and Ruth Anne were members of Wahoo Whirlers Square Dance Club where he was the Caller, and also danced with the Lincoln Promenaders. He served as chairman of the Saunders County Historical Society. He and Ruth Anne were members of the Nebraska Soybean Association and attended several national conferences. After they retired from farming and moved to Wahoo in 1996, he was a weekend night desk clerk at the Super 8 Motel for 12 years. Ken enjoyed announcing at baseball games at Sam Crawford Field. Ken was preceded in death by his wife of nearly 70 years, his parents, his two older sisters, Esther Sorensen and Virginia Smart; parents-in-law Gust & Cordelia Barry, and sister-in-law Leila Lehnert. Survivors include five children: Anne (Wes) Ballard, Lyle (Susan) Schoen, Jan (Jerry) Tooker, Nancy Schoen (Martin Costello), all of Lincoln; and Mary Schoen (Paul) Petersen, Austin, Texas; brothers Lou Schoen of Minneapolis, MN, Roy (Suzie Miller) Schoen of Lincoln, and Les Schoen of Lincoln; eight grandchildren: Naomi (Jason) Kile, Maggie Ballard, David Schoen, John (Nicole) Tooker, Emily (Sarah) Tooker, Shane (Abbie) Tooker, Carol Petersen, and Nathan Petersen; three step grandchildren: Matt (Nancy) Ballard, Heather (Tom) Brumm, and Luke (Crystal) Ballard; six great-grandchildren: Jessica Tooker, Jonathan Kile, Amelia Tooker, William Tooker, Jordan Kile, and Margaret Ruth Anne Tooker; six step great-grandchildren: Bailey Ballard, Trent Ballard, Taylor Ballard, Collin Ballard, William Brumm and Daniel Brumm; and a host of other relatives and friends. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to First United Methodist Church of Wahoo, Camp Fontanelle at Nickerson, or the Saunders County Historical Society.