Earl Charles Schumacher died peacefully on May 20, 2021, at home in Hayden Lake, Idaho, with his wife and family pets nearby. He was born March 24, 1937, in Los Angeles to Victor C. and Mildred (Deeths) Schumacher.
Earl grew up in Southern California, graduating from Hamilton High School, Santa Monica College and UCLA, receiving a degree in elementary education. He taught for a total of 33 years—31 with the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (at Webster Elementary in Malibu) and two years at the Patrick Henry Army Base in Heidelberg, Germany. Through his career, he taught sixth, then fifth grade, and helped chaperone the yearly student trips to Yosemite for outdoor education.Â
He was in the Naval Reserve for seven years and served as a medic.
Earl and his wife Donna moved to Hayden Lake in 1994—the day after they both retired from teaching.
Earl loved traveling the world and being outdoors. He could frequently be found backpacking, camping, fishing, boating, skiing or motorcycling. He was an avid collector of old lunchboxes, soda bottles, trains, cap guns and other nostalgic things that reminded him of his childhood.
He was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife of almost 40 years, Donna, ex-wife Carole, daughters Kirsten of Brentwood and Tamra of Nova Scotia, and four grandsons.
At his request, there will be no service. In lieu of flowers, donations in his name may be made to the Kootenai Humane Society (11650 N Ramsey Rd, Hayden, ID 83835), Wounded Warriors Project, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital or any charity of your choosing.