Obit of Schneider, Fred - Oklahoma County, Oklahoma Submitted by: Gene Phillips 14 Dec 2008 Return to Oklahoma County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/oklahoma/oklahoma.html ===================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ===================================================================== ::NOT LISTED Schneider, Fred Fred D. Schneider passed away in Dallas on Saturday, October 7, 2006, due to heart failure. He was born on September 7, 1924, in Bonner Springs, Kansas. He was the only child of Fred Schneider, Jr. and his wife, Mary Ellen Schneider. The family moved to Bartlesville, Oklahoma prior to World War II, when Fred's father opened a Pontiac dealership in that community. Fred attended and graduated from College High School in Bartlesville. Upon graduation he enrolled at Kansas University, where he spent one semester before signing up for Officers Candidate School. He went on to serve with the Army Air Force as a navigator on the B-29 named "The City of Bartlesville". After being discharged from the service, Fred attended the University of Oklahoma. He was a member of the varsity baseball team and a member of Sigma Chi fraternity. He graduated with a degree in Business Administration. Following graduation, he worked as buyer for a department store in Oklahoma City until 1950, at which time he returned to Bartlesville to participate in his father's Frigidaire retail store located there. In 1952 he left the appliance business to work at his father's Pontiac dealership (which had been closed during the war years). He next relocated to Omaha, Nebraska, when the family purchased a Pontiac dealership. They soon bought out the other Pontiac dealership in Omaha and the family operated both dealerships. In 1957, he and his father left Omaha, after the purchase of a Pontiac dealership in El Paso, Texas. After the Omaha dealerships were later sold in 1959, Fred also moved to El Paso and became a part-owner of that dealership. Following his father's death Fred continued to expand his automotive operations by adding Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota franchises at multiple locations in El Paso. These operations were subsequently sold by the early 1980s; and Fred moved to Houston, Texas, having purchased Lester Goodson Pontiac-GMC-Honda. Subsequent expansions in Houston included the purchase of Landmark Chevrolet, Goodson Toyota and Spring Branch Honda. During the period 1985 to the mid 1990s, Fred also bought and sold a number of other dealerships, including Oldsmobile, Infiniti and Honda, in Florida and California. In 1986, he established Great Western Management Corp. to exercise management oversight for all his automotive retail operations; and in 1992, he established one of the first general accounting offices in the United States to handle the financial operations of all his dealerships in a single location under the Great Western name. In addition, he was awarded one of the first Acura dealerships in the nation, and Goodson Acura opened in Irving, Texas in 1986. Fred and his family still operate this facility; and his son-in-law, Clark Richardson, acts as its President. He was also involved in a number of insurance, finance and other retail-automobile-related enterprises during the years. Fred moved his residence and base of operations to Dallas in 2000, after selling Houston based Goodson Honda/Pontiac/GMC and Spring Branch Honda dealerships to United Auto Group. Fred was a member of the Board of Directors of El Paso National Bank, El Paso Bancshares, Trans Texas Bancshares (El Paso) and Texas Commerce Bancshares in Houston. He was also a partner in the New Orleans Saints until 1992. Fred was a member of The Vintage and Eldorado country clubs in Indian Wells. Fred was predeceased in death by his father and mother; and is survived by his loving family, including his wife, Susan Payne Schneider, his daughter, Nancy S. Richardson and her husband, Clark Richardson, his son, Fred K. Schneider and his wife Brenda Schneider, his grandchildren, Will Richardson, Ryan Richardson, Fred K. Schneider, Jr., Karl F. Schneider and Fallon Schneider, all of Dallas, as well as many wonderful extended family members and friends. A special thanks to his loving care givers. Feli, Tina, Bernice, Rochelle, Annie, Lawana, Shun and Laverne. A Memorial Service will be held at 4pm, October 14, 2006, Sparkman/Hillcrest Funeral Home Chapel, 7405 W. Northwest Hwy., Dallas 75225. Memorials may be made to the Crystal Cathedral, 12141 Lewis St., Garden Grove, California or the American Heart Association. Sparkman/Hillcrest, 7405 W. Northwest Hwy., Dallas, Texas 75225; 214.363.5401. Published in The Desert Sun on 10/11/2006. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to Oklahoma County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/oklahoma/oklahoma.html