Frederick William Schott

Fred was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on July 22, 1947 to Fred and May (Marr) Schott, the middle brother to sisters, Martha and Ruby. Fred grew up enjoying camping, fishing, participating in the Boy Scouts, and being a member of the Portland Boys Clubs, where he discovered a love for basketball and developed some of his closest lifetime friends. Fred & Donna met at Portland Christian School and began dating their junior year of high school. Fred was awarded the local Boys Club Boy of the Year and received a scholarship to George Williams College, requiring him to move to Chicago, Illinois, in 1965. Donna joined him in Chicago after they were married on September 3, 1966. After 15 months in Chicago, they returned to Louisville, Kentucky to support family during a time of need, and Fred completed his Bachelor of Science in Sociology in 1970 from the University of Louisville. By September of 1972, they completed their family of 5, adding 3 daughters Laura, Melissa, and Emily. In 1972, just four weeks after their youngest daughter was born, Fred and Donna moved their family to Carter Lake, IA where Fred began his career with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands. After a short time, Fred was promoted to Unit Director of the South Omaha club, so they moved again to the heart of South Omaha, where the girls were raised and many sweet friends were made. In 1980, Fred and Donna took a big leap of faith. Fred left his position at the Boys & Girls Clubs and began his own business called EML Enterprises. Through EML he began teaching parenting classes, time management seminars, and working with organizations in the community. He was quickly recruited by Central States Health & Life Co. of Omaha and spent the next 20 years working for one of his heroes and mentors, Bill Kizer Sr. The Boys & Girls Clubs were never far from his heart. He served on the board and volunteered in multiple ways. In 2004, his heart came home when he was asked to become the CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands. He worked fervently for the next 8 years and did some amazing things for the future of the Clubs. Upon retirement in 2012, Fred worked for the Daugherty Family Foundation, where he specialized in supporting projects focused on inner-city and social development. Fred was officially diagnosed with Parkinson's in July of 2017. In true nature, as soon as he understood the problem, he made every effort to slow down its effects. We are forever grateful for the physical, occupational, and speech therapy he received at Heartland Neurological Therapy and Wellness Center, which gave him many more years of quality life. There are many words that describe Fred – integrity, deep faith, family, adventurous, intentional, teacher, leader, friend, fun, storyteller, mediator, but he loved being a husband, father, papa, and uncle the most. Fred was a student of life, a lover of questions and conversations, and was inspired by wonder. To be known by Fred was a gift. Let us all continue the gift of his life by noticing, befriending, loving others, and trying to make a difference in big ways or small. He would say, “We’ve all been blessed to bless.” Thankful to be loved by him are his wife, Donna of 57 years, and his daughters Laura (Mark) Rickley, Melissa (Tim) Hiatt, and Emily (Dave) Decker. Grandchildren Tessa (Matt) Anderson, Karly (Bob) Schlosser, Megan Pfannenstiel (Caleb), Joe Hiatt (Ashton), Kenna (Hunter) Schweers, Lily Hiatt, Davy Decker, and Reese Decker, Joe (Tasha) Rickley, Justin (Libby) Rickley, Jenna (Chad) Seals, Jimmy Rickley, ten great-grandchildren, Sister Martha Watkins, and nieces and nephews who were much like sons and daughters, and a host of friends whom he treated as family. He was preceded in death by his parents Fred and May Schott, his sister Ruby Penrod, his in-laws Manuel and Orene Ice, and his brother-in-law, Ken Ice. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands or Heartland Neurological Therapy and Wellness Center.

Frederick William Schott

July 22, 1947 - September 1, 2023