BRUNSWICK — The Rev. Donald J. Schroeder, age 91, of Brunswick, passed away peacefully Thursday, March 29, 2018 at Mid Coast Senior Health Center.

Rev. Schroeder was born in Union City, NJ February 1, 1927 and was the second of three children of Carleton Schroeder and Ethel Stone Schroeder.

He attended schools in New Jersey and was a graduate of Bergenfield, High School, Rutgers University, the Graduate School of New York University and the Philadelphia Divinity School. He completed his formal education and was ordained to the ministry at age 43 but continued his education through seminars and retreats for the remainder of his life.

Donald Schroeder lived and served in the inner city parish of Newark, New Jersey serving the poor and working to improve the living conditions and educational opportunities of the newly arriving residents for a number of years before moving to Mattoon, Illinois where he served in the Episcopal Church comprised of a mixture of rural farmers and faculty of the University of Illinois. After serving in ministry for 25 years he retired and moved to Brunswick, where he remained active in the ministry serving in several capacities at his beloved Grace Episcopal Church in Bath.

Donald was a veteran of WWII and enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps in February 1945, while he was a high school student. After the war her returned to complete his High School education.

He married Barbara Ann Larson on August 17, 1963 in Rahway, NJ. They celebrated their 40th Anniversary at the Parkwood Inn, Brunswick with numerous members of their family and professional associates.

Before entering Ministry Donald had worked as a Statistical Analyst at Foster- Wheeler Corp. in New York, NY, in market research for Worthington Pump and Machinery, Inc. in Harrison, NJ, an Economic writer for American Petroleum Institute of New York, and Market Analyst at International Division of Radio Corporation of America.

Rev. Schroeder (affectionately known as “Don”) enjoyed long distance walking and bicycling and with the help of his wife Barbara, was able to walk and bicycle from the Eastern most tip of Nova Scotia to Kansas City, MO. Much of this distance he did solo and was often gone for weeks at a time.

He wrote several books including a book of his experience “Bicycling Eastern USA, A solo Journey”.

In his retirement, he published a genealogical work which took five years to complete, “And I Was One of Them” based on 52 letters his father wrote home from Belgium during WWI from 1918-1919.

An avid sailor, Don built his own 18 foot sloop and sailed it along the Maine Coast with his wife, Barbara. They also travelled Europe several times in their car and made several visits to ancestral home sites in Sweden and Norway.

Besides his wife, Rev. Schroeder is predeceased by his brother, Clifton Schroeder.

Surviving are his sister, Doris Jean Thorne of New Jersey and 14 nieces and nephews – all of whom he loved deeply.

Visiting hours will be from 3 to 6 PM Wednesday, April 4 at the Brackett Funeral Home, 29 Federal Street, Brunswick. A Memorial Service of Celebration will be held at Grace Episcopal Church, 1100 Washington Street, Bath at 10:30AM on Saturday, April 7, with a reception and time of sharing to follow.

In lieu of flowers the family asks that those interested may make donations to the “Wounded Warrior Program” at www.woundedwarriorproject.org/donate, or “Habitat for Humanity of Greater Portland,” 659 Warren Ave., Portland, ME 04103.

Condolences can be expressed to the family at www.brackettfuneralhome.c om.