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Sunday, April 8, 2007
She was a devoted mother
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
She kept bags of oats and flour at home.
Sandra S. Schroeder liked to bake bread for her family. Fresh, healthy meals were her forte.
“There wasn’t a can of cream of mushroom soup in the house,” said Stephanie Schroeder, a daughter-in-law who lives in Lawrenceville.
Sandra Schaffer married Daniel Lynn Schroeder nearly four decades ago. He was 20. She was 19.
Early on, the couple concocted a plan. They would have kids by the time they were 30 or so. They’d raise them prim and proper, and send them on their adult way. Then, the couple, empty nesters, would enjoy life.
Like any good plan, though, changes arise.
The couple, Indiana natives who moved to Lilburn after years of mission work, did indeed have kids. They’re grown up now — Ben, 28; Leah, 26; and Christy, 22.
They didn’t stop there, though. Through the years, the Schroeders adopted six other children. Their family looks like the United Nations, a rainbow coalition.
Laura, 13, hails from Ecuador. Peter, 12, is from South Korea. The other four kids, all black, came from domestic adoptions: Eli, 7; Emma, 7; Sam, 6; and Katy, 5.
My wife and I have two kids. Seems like we’re always on the go, doing something domestic — laundry, sweeping, mopping and cooking.
Imagine a household with six kids, all those clothes to wash and meals to prepare. And to top it all off, Sandra Schroeder home schooled all but one of the adopted brood. Peter, who’s autistic, attends school.
Stephanie Schroeder is married to Ben, the oldest biological child. Their son, Scott, seven months old, is one of two grandsons that Sandra Schroeder doted over. Stephanie Schroeder visited her mother-in-law often. She saw what the woman put into the job, what it demanded.
“To say that she was a full-time homemaker, mother, and wife doesn’t seem sufficient,” she told me. “The first word I think of is sheer love.”
Bruce Bliss is the associate pastor at Lilburn Alliance, Daniel and Sandra Schroeder’s church. He told me about a conversation he had with Daniel. The electrical engineer told the pastor that the couple always sensed a higher power directed them with each addition to the family.
“They see this as their mission, the reason God put them here,” he said.
And plans were in the works to oblige once again.
A week ago today, Sandra Schroeder was a passenger in a Toyota Corolla that was traveling south on Five Forks Trickum Road. Police say the driver of the Toyota ran off the road to avoid hitting another car, lost control and entered the northbound lane hitting a Dodge Caravan.
Schroeder, 51, was transported to Gwinnett Medical Center. On Monday, she died from her injuries. A memorial service was held Thursday at Lilburn Alliance Church.
Across the planet, thousands of kids would love to live in a home where mom bakes bread.
In Lilburn, there’s a blended family that was in the process of trying to do just that for at least two more children.
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