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Giant funeral shaping up for Taunton WWII veteran who died without family

Telegram & Gazette - 11/30/2019

TAUNTON -- When 99-year-old World War II veteran Arthur Schroeder of Taunton died Friday, word went out that he had no surviving family members.

But it turns out he had a giant family of fellow veterans and an even larger circle of friends whose lives he's touched who aren't about to let his passing go unnoticed.

"He's part of the Greatest Generation. He was 99 years old, and he outlived his entire bloodline. But he died with a lot of people who cared about him," said Raynham Veterans Agent Micaila Britto.

Schroeder's pastor, the Rev. Ami Dion of West Congregational Church, reached out to Mayor-Elect Shaunna O'Connell and City Councilor John McCaul to help spread the word to veterans and others who might want to attend Schroeder's funeral.

O'Connell, who is a member of West Congregational, swung into action, notifying veterans officers in Taunton and Raynham.

One thing led to another, and Britto said she was now expecting hundreds of people to fill the little church on Winthrop Street to overflowing on Saturday, Nov. 30.

The Taunton Police Department honor guard will be there, as well as the Taunton High School Junior ROTC, the American Legion, the VFW, the Taunton Area Vietnam Veterans Association, the Marine Corps League and many others, Britto said.

O'Connell said she will miss the cheerful sight of Schroeder sitting in his favorite pew in the back of the church on a Sunday morning greeting everyone and wishing them a good morning.

"For someone like Art who was so giving and kind and had such distinguished service to our country and lived through so many historic moments, we wanted to make sure Art had a service filled with people and love and the recognition and honor he deserves," O'Connell said Tuesday.

Schroeder was a gregarious man, who made friends effortlessly everywhere he went, was sharper than many people half his age and always had a twinkle in his bright blue eyes, Dion said.

"Everyone will miss him terribly. I didn't think of him as a parishioner. I thought of him as a father. He will never be far from my heart. They don't make them like that anymore," Dion said Tuesday.

Schroeder, who still lived independently and drove a car until October, was full of stories and could "strike up a conversation with a door," Dion said.

She recalled one time he was having dinner at a restaurant when a little girl at the next table kept waving at him. He became such good friends with that family they invited him to their home for holiday meals and will be attending his funeral, Dion said.

"That kind of thing happened everywhere he went. He just had the kind of personality that made people want to talk to him," Dion said.

Schroeder's wife Ann, "the love of his life," his obituary said, died in 2008, but he did not retreat from life into loneliness, Dion said.

Just the opposite. He reached out to surround himself with the people and things he loved.

He loved dogs, especially his toy poodles. He was also a history buff and avid reader, according to his obituary.

He loved sitting along the Cape Cod Canal under the railroad bridge watching the boats go by and lobstering in the canal, his obituary said.

And he would arrive at church an hour early just to sit and listen to the choir rehearse.

Dion said Schroeder loved music and found joy in such peaceful, meditative moments.

Schroeder, a longtime Taunton resident who was born in Westwood, was a "proud WW II veteran" who served in the Pacific and received a Bronze Star, according to his obituary.

Over the years, he had worked as a chauffeur for funeral homes, a custodian for Westwood Public Schools and, in retirement, as a bus driver for Taunton Public Schools.

Schroeder's obituary was written by John Faidell, owner and director of Dahlborg-MacNevin Funeral Homes. But he was much more than that.

Faidell, a close family friend, was Schroeder's caretaker and "would refer to him as his second father and call him 'Pops' along with many, many close friends," the obituary said.

Dion and Faidell visited Schroeder just about every day at Life Care Center or Raynham as his health began to fail, Dion said.

The day before he died, each of them visited him with the same message.

"I told him how much I love him and that I would miss him terribly but we would be OK and would see him again and Ann was waiting for him and his best friends were waiting for him," Dion said.

Schroeder died peacefully that night, she said.

"He lived his life the way he wanted to live it right up to the end. You can't ask for more than that," Dion said.

"We were very blessed to have had him for as long as we did."

A funeral service celebrating Arthur Schroeder's life is being held on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 11 a.m. in West Congregational Church, 415 Winthrop St. (Route 44), Taunton. Following cremation, he will be interred with his wife Ann at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne.

"I'm hoping it's standing room only," Mello said.

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