Lola Maxine Schultz

Lola Maxine, nee Miller, Schultz, died Sunday, November 19, 2017, at the age of 94 in the care of her family in the home on South Clinton Road where she lived for 67 years. She was born July 19, 1923, in Shelby County, Ill. She was the 12th and her twin sister was the 11th child of 13 born to Mary Gertrude, nee Turner, Miller and Henry Ward Beecher Miller of Donnellson, Ill. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband of 47 years, Forrest Norman Schultz; and all her brothers and sisters and their husbands and wives, Ruth (Earl) Coffey, Cecil (Mildred) Miller, Minnie (George) McDaniel, Howard (Cleora) Miller, Velma (Albert) Hancock, Mary (James) Lentz, Abbie (Kenneth) Price, John (May) Miller, Jesse Leroy, who died in infancy, Isabelle (Russell) Reindl, Lela (Thomas) Randant and Grace (Robert) McCracken.

She is survived by her five children: Judith Eileen (Marvin) Schroeder of New Haven, Mo., Kathleen Schultz Mendez of Edwardsville, Ill., Eric Norman Schultz of Albuquerque, Nm., Marvin Howard (Helena) Schultz of Collinsville, Ill., Ward Preston Schultz of Edwardsville, Ill.; five grandchildren, Mary Lynn (Randy) Bonnarens of New Haven, Mo., Kurt Wayne (Pamela) Schroeder of New Haven, Mo., Christa Marie (Cullen) Kuhn of Webster Groves, Mo., Gary Forrest Schultz and Stephen Lee Schultz of Collinsville, Ill.; seven great-grandchildren, Taurie Lynn, Dakota Riane and Levi Forrest Schroeder of New Haven, Mo., Shane Andrew and Colter Nathaniel Bonnarens of New Haven Mo., Maiya Elisabeth and Lydia Elaine Kuhn of Webster Groves, Mo.

Lola grew up in Donnellson, Ill., and graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1941. She was an excellent typist and stenographer and worked in banks in downtown St. Louis while living in Collinsville, where she met her husband, Forrest Norman Schultz. They were married in the Methodist parsonage in Caseyville, Ill., on September 5, 1942, attended by her sister Lela and Marvin Feist. In April, 1943, she became an enlisted Navy wife. And in July she became mother to Judy. She and Judy lived in Donnellson with her parents while Forrest was in training and on a destroyer crew in the Atlantic and Pacific. She said Christmas 1945, was her most memorable. In 1946 she and Judy joined Forrest at Roosevelt Roads Naval Base in Puerto Rico, a time she remembered fondly. When Forrest was discharged in January 1947, they returned to Collinsville. Kathy was born in March 1947, and the family moved in veterans'' housing Quonset huts near Summit Ave. after Eric was born in 1949; they rented the first floor of a house on Mary St. After Marvin was born in 1950 the family moved to the house on South Clinton Road that was built for Forrest''s father in 1932 by the Collinsville American Legion Post. They spent the next 40 years remodeling it.

Lola was a full-time mother and homemaker until volunteering as the "candy lady" at Miller School led to many years as a cook and baker within the Collinsville schools. Her first purchase with her wages was a large Kitchen Aid mixer that produced mountains of cookies.

She was a conscientious cook, gardener and seamstress, household necessities that eased into hobbies including knitting, crocheting, quilting, weaving and cake decorating. Lola liked to share ideas and creations, especially baby afghans with family and friends. Over the last 20 years she attempted unsuccessfully to decrease her cache of yarn by knitting gloves, caps and scarves by the bagful for winter clothing drives. She and Forrest also loved to read and encouraged their children to read.

The children were sent to Sunday School at Bethel Baptist Church, within walking distance of the house, and Lola began attending also, Joining the church in 1959. For many years she taught Sunday School and vacation Bible School and served as Church Clerk. In her 70''s she was an AWANA leader for four years. Until her early 90''s she was a member of the Ladies'' Missionary Society, supporting and corresponding with missionaries in the U.S. and overseas. In 2013 Lola and Maxine Leach were recognized by New Tribes Mission and Friends in Action for their 50 years of rolling bandages from sheets for distribution to missionaries in 9 Asian and African countries. Pictures sent with the letter of recognition illustrate the burns and crocodile bites the bandages were used to treat. Until the members required care themselves, every month the Society visited Pleasant Ridge/Collinsville Care Center to celebrate birthdays and cake and hymns. In 1991, Lola was among the founding members of the Cameron Townsend Memorial Wycliffe Chapter of St. Louis, which supports missionaries involved in Bible translation.

Lola was always ready to travel. After the children were older, Lola and Forrest traveled frequently: to New Haven, Mo., to visit Judy''s family, to attend farm sales and to visit new friends; to the Shawnee National Forest to scout Forrest''s bow hunting sites; to Virginia, to visit Kathy''s family and to tour Revolutionary and Civil War sites; and to New Mexico to visit Eric and tour historic sites. She was photographed at the entrance to every Civil War battlefield between Illinois and Virginia. With Ward she attended Kathy''s wedding in Anchorage Ak. After Forrest''s death, she traveled with Marvin to Niagara Falls and Cooperstown, to the New Hampshire coast, and to Montana to visit she had never met. In 2000 she toured Ireland and Great Britain to see where her Scots-Irish ancestors came from and to learn something of her distant relative J.M.W. Turner, the landscape painter she had heard about from her mother. She visited Turner''s grave at St. Paul''s Cathedral and his gallery in the Tate Museum in London. A surprise on the trip was driving through Gretna Green, Scotland, a fixture in the historical romances she enjoyed. In 2005 she fulfilled her wish to visit Hawaii and Pearl Harbor by seven days of cruising the islands. She wanted to see where Forrest had found the many souvenirs he sent to her during the war, including a grass skirt that is still in her closet. She made yearly trips to New Mexico, often by train, and traveled with her nieces and daughters to the Amana Colonies in Iowa, the Illinois Amish country, the Shaker Village and Berea in Kentucky, the Church in the Wildwood in Wisconsin, and other places featuring traditional crafts.

She was curious about people and places, and she believed in being useful and enjoying life. To whom much is given, much is required. Luke 12:48

The family wishes to thank VITAS Hospice, Pastor Mike Evans and friends at Bethel Baptist Church, and Trice Seyler, who was especially kind in visiting Lola every week to do her hair and nails.

Memorial contributions may be made to Bethel Baptist Church, U.S.O. or Linebarger Ministries and can be received at the funeral home. Condolences to the family can be expressed through this online guestbook.

Visitation: Friends may visit with the family 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 21, 2017, at Herr Funeral Home, Collinsville, Ill.

Funeral: Funeral services for Lola will be 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, November 22, 2017, at Bethel Baptist Church, Caseyville, Ill., with Pastor Mike Evans officiating. Burial will follow at Bethel Baptist Cemetery, Caseyville, Ill.

Herr Funeral Home
Collinsville, Ill.