Obituary of Ruth Eleanor Schneiker

Ruth Eleanor Schneiker, 90, of Tucson, AZ was welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven September 3, 2015. Born March 17, 1925 in Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin, she earned a BS in Home Economics from the University of Wisconsin and an MA in Clothing Education from Columbia Teacher's College. She married fellow Wisconsin native Jack Schneiker and moved to Tucson where her parents and brothers were building their home construction business. She and Jack started American International Travel and raised four children, all graduates of Tucson High School. Ruth's volunteer work with Head Start inspired her to pursue an MA in Special Education from the University of Arizona, which she put to use during 10 years of teaching with the Tucson Unified School District. Following her salvation in 1981, she was drawn to mission work and spent a sabbatical year teaching English at Guizhou University in China's Guiyang Province. She retired from TUSD at age 64 and then taught for three years each in Jos, Nigeria; Jerusalem, Israel; and Arequipa, Peru, before coming back to Tucson and spending much of her free time involved with her church and volunteering as a child advocate with CASA. She is survived by three of her four children as well as five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren: Conrad Schneiker, Henry (Phyllis Farenga, and son Derek) Schneiker, Mary Ann (Fred, and daughters Emily and Lauren) Lawson; and her late daughter Katherine's husband (Charles Tanner and children Trisha Tanner (Christopher Biasiolli), Ethan (Caitlyn and sons Coaltan and Corbin), Seth (Miriam and daughter Anika), as well as her brother Harlan Davis and sister-in-law Marilyn Davis. She was preceded
 in death by her daughter, Katherine Tanner, two brothers, Richard and Grant Davis, and sister Helen Krog, as well as her former husband Jack (Belle) Schnieker. A Celebration of Life
 will be held at 2:00pm (viewing at 1pm), Saturday, September 19, 2015 at North Swan Baptist Church (2727 N. Swan Road). In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Glad Tidings Assembly of God and designated for missions.