Obituary of Fredric Robert Schoenick

Fredric Robert Schoenick (80) longtime St. Maries, ID resident passed away at Benewah Community Hospital on June 1, 2024.  He was born on December 31, 1943, to Raymond “Ray” and Bernice “Bea” Schoenick in Portage, WI.  Fred grew up in the Milwaukee and Beaver Dam areas. A visit with their Marquardt and Pugh family’s prompted Ray and Bea to move to St. Maries in 1958 when Fred was a freshman. The couple fell in love with the area, specifically the “banana belt” where they finished their home near the llama farm where it currently sits today. During high school, Fred played football and worked for the U.S. Forest Service planting trees and fighting fires.  Fred graduated from St. Maries High School with the class of 1962.

Following high school, Fred joined the Air National Guard out of Spokane where he served for 4 years, and then went to Alaska where he went to work for Standard Oil.  Fred accompanied his parents on a trip to Acapulco; it was there where he met Josefina Olguin.  The couple had an instant connection and a sparkle in their eyes for each other.  They corresponded via mail for a year and married in a beautiful and intimate wedding in Mexico on September 15, 1974.  The nuptials were followed by another wedding in the U.S. at the Hitching Post in Coeur d’ Alene.

Fred and Josie had 2 girls and made their home in St. Maries near his parent’s ranch.  He worked as a Heavy Equipment Diesel Mechanic for a couple logging companies in Bovill.  Fred then worked his family’s ranch where they raised horses, cattle, llamas, rabbits, and cut and sold hay.  Until the day he died, Fred still enjoyed being out in a field on a tractor; at 80 years old he never fully retired.  Aside from being a workaholic, Fred enjoyed hunting and fishing.  In his later years he became a coin collector among other treasures.  He was a member of the NRA, Cattlemen’s Association, Soil and Water Conservation, and Farm Bureau.

Fred is survived by his wife Josefina at their home in St. Maries; daughters Claudia Schoenick (Daniel Shepperd) of St. Maries and Sylvia (Jason) Light of Post Falls; sister Edith “Edie” Ferguson of Coeur d’ Alene, ID; 6 grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews.  He is preceded in death by his parents. 

There will be a private family gathering held at a later date to celebrate Fred’s life.