Rex Owen Schneider

Rex Owen Schneider, 62, passed away March 10, 2020.  Rex was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia on April 10, 2019. His battle, however, began when he was diagnosed in 1996 with essential thrombocytosis, a precursor to the leukemia.  The family wants to thank Doctor Aravind Ramakrishnan and Doctor Shahbaz  Malik and the staff of St. David’s South Austin cancer clinic and the team on the 6 ^th floor for the loving care given to Rex over the last year.  When Rex was hospitalized or going back and forth daily for treatment,  Ginger and Rex were always welcomed warmly and treated like family.   The family also is grateful to Maria, Chandra Bridget, and the staff of Texas Home Health Hospice for their love and support of the family and Rex in his final days.

Rex was born to Doris Jean and Lenard Howard Schneider on June 1, 1957 in Georgetown, Texas.  Rex was preceded in death by his father, Lenard Schneider.  Rex is survived by Ginger, his wife of 42 years; his mother, Doris Jean Schneider; his daughter, Autumn Pavlicek (Lance); his son, Spencer Schneider(Matti);  his sisters, Stephanie Newberg (Gary) and Tina Schneider (Cindy Fowler);  three granddaughters, Sophie Chapman, Evie Schneider, and Allie Schneider; Ginger’s sister and brother Gail Pierce (Ron) and Greg Kaiser(Debra); three nieces,  Nicole Pierce Hill, Courtney Peters (Zack)  and Dana Cain(Chase); and one great nephew, Easton Peters.

Growing up, Rex loved fishing with his family on weekends and, as he grew older, completely restoring the 1965 Ford pickup his dad gave him.  His friends called him “Tool” because he worked on cars, but also because he was the only one with a truck to “tool around in.”  Rex excelled in school and decided upon graduation from Taylor High School to follow his passion. In the fall he enrolled  in Ryder Technical School, where he completed a year long course in auto mechanics.  He was 19 when he finished the Ryder program and he began a career that spanned 43 years. His career culminated in 23 years as the first Shop Foreman for Fleet Services over all of Williamson County in which he oversaw the maintenance of more than 1000 pieces of equipment, including EMS ambulances and Sheriffs’ vehicles.  Rex retired from the county at the end of January 2019.

On October 1, 1977, Rex married his high school sweetheart, Ginger Kaiser. His love for Ginger was evident to everyone and often times made her blush. Family was always first for Rex and many weekends were  dedicated to family, fishing or working on the home he and Ginger were remodeling. He loved the outdoors and shared that love with his children, Autumn and Spencer. Whether he was outside influencing Autumn’s love of wood working and gardening, or  Spencer’s love of boats and fishing, he did it all with passion.

Rex was happiest on the water and taught his children to fish, ski on the lake and jump waves at the beach. To say Rex loved to fish is an understatement.  He fished in every tournament he could with his son, Spencer, or his fishing partner, Danny Hughes. He was a member of several fishing organizations through the years, including the Taylor  and Georgetown Bass Clubs and the Rio Grande Yellowcatters.  Rex was recognized as a pretty good fisherman, so when Danny was invited to interview on the local radio station, KTAE, he suggested Rex be included to discuss how to catch crappie and black bass on Granger Lake.

Rex loved serving Christ and was an active member of Trinity Lutheran Church. His love for Jesus and participation in the church was impressed upon his family, and influenced their following of Christ.  He served as an elder, participated in church beautification and fundraisers, prepared food for church meals, and did uncountable repairs at Trinity Child Development Center. His faith was unbreakable and he stayed steadfast to his beliefs.

Visitation will be Friday, March 13, 2020 from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the family home at 622 West Seventh Street.  The Memorial Service will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church in Taylor on Saturday, March 14, 2020 at 10:00 am.  Honorary pallbearers will be Danny Hughes, Brian Hughes, Charles Thonig, Nathan Thonig, Flint Fisher and Danny Ray Fisher. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Rex Schneider Memorial Scholarship Fund from which scholarships will be awarded each year to a student in the Taylor High School auto mechanics program.  Donations in Rex’s memory can be mailed to Taylor ISD, 3101 North Main St., Taylor, TX.