Richard Edward Schendel

SCHENDEL, RICHARD EDWARD, age 88, of Trenton, MI passed away on February 20. Born in Wyandotte on January 25, 1931, son of Edward and Margaret (Pilz) Schendel, owners of the Ed-Mar Acres Arabian Horse Farm in Riverview. Predeceased by bother David at age 17. A graduate of Wyandotte Roosevelt High School and Michigan State University, he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering and was affiliated with Theta Xi fraternity. Richard was married for 63 years to Elaine Blakely (deceased), daughter of Fred and Hazel Munro Blakely, whose families were early settlers in the Gibraltar area. He is survived by Lisa (Gary) Steele of Roswell GA, David (Veronica) Schendel of Canton MI, Lynne (Brian) Herman of Gibraltar MI, Kristen (Tim) Harrington of Champaign IL, and grandchildren Blakely and Richard Harrington; Evan, Aaron and Maggie Herman; and Eric and Allison Schendel. Richard was a steadfast Christian, and served for many years at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Trenton MIas elder, usher and on numerous ministry committees. He was well-known for his photographic activism,” supplying friends and family with (in his words) “more pics than they ever wanted.” Commissioned as Lieutenant in the U.S.Army, Richard served at Ft. Knox, Kentucky and later at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. Later assigned to the Corps of Engineers, he was attached to the 87th Engineering Task Force deployed to Ft. Churchill, Manitoba, Canada where he served as Project Engineer for construction of science-rocket launch facilities during the 1957 International Geophysical Year. Following his military career he joined the Schendel Construction Co. He was a seven-state District Manager for the Rex Chainbelt/Spanall division, and then served as Vice President of Engineering for Fastdecks, Inc. until his retirement in 1992. He was active with the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Detroit and Michigan, and chaired their Accident Prevention and Construction Safety Committees. Memorial Contributions in lieu of flowers may be mailed to: -St. Paul Lutheran Church (benevolence fund) & -Connection Church (an extension of St. Paul Lutheran Church) 2550 Edsel, Trenton, MI 48183 (734) 676-1565 Please click on tribute wall above to view Richard's memorial video.