Michael Lane Schnetzler, 71, of Fresno, California, passed away on Saturday, July 23,
at Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto, California.
Michael is preceded in death by his father, Jimmy Schnetzler, his mother, Harmony
Schnetzler Smith and his brother Gregory Schnetzler.
Michael is survived by his wife, Maureen Schnetzler, to whom he was married for 50
years; daughter, Amy Krehbiel and her husband Rick and their six children, Brandon,
Josh, Ellie, Garrett, Julia and Max; daughter, Cristy Tuck and her husband Dave and
their seven children, David, Noah, Caleb, Elijah, Aria, Joe and Josh; brother, Rod
Schnetzler and his wife, Teri. He will also be missed by his many loving extended family
members.
Michael was born on January 9, 1951 in Jackson, Mississippi to Jimmy and Harmony
Schnetzler. As a boy he and his brothers loved playing baseball with their father as
coach. In the fourth grade his family moved to Santa Maria, CA. He graduated from
Santa Maria High School and attended Allan Hancock Junior College, where he
developed his love for music. He attended Fresno Pacific College on a basketball
scholarship. Mike worked for two summers at Hume Lake Christian Camps, there he
met and later married his wife, Maureen in 1971. He joined the Air Force and served as
a chaplain's assistant during which time he and Maureen were stationed in Texas and
Turkey. Following the service he worked as a warehouse manager, taught truck driving
at West Hills College, then drove truck for Wal-Mart, retiring after 25 years. Amazingly,
through all those years of travel, God allowed Mike to be home almost every
Wednesday night for choir practice. Mike's love for music allowed him to serve the Lord
by leading the Worship Ministry Flock class and singing in the church choir. This led to
six opportunities for music missions trips to Russia and Ukraine, where he was taught to
introduce himself in Russian as "the best truck driver in America". These were life
changing experiences for him. During his retirement years, Mike and Maureen enjoyed
visiting Israel and spending intentional time with their 13 grandchildren, in both Colorado
and Fresno. In 2016 Mike was diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis which led
to a double lung transplant in November of 2021. He spent the last 9 months at Stanford
taking many opportunities to share what God has done in his life. Even up to his last few
days in the ICU he continued to proclaim his faith in God and now he is face to face with
his Savior.
Interment will be at San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery, Santa Nella, CA
In lieu of flowers, please consider sending gifts in Michael's memory to Slavic Gospel
Association at sga.org or
Legacy Coalition - Christian Grandparenting Ministry at
www.aplos.com/aws/give/LegacyCoalition/GPosthumus.
Michael's family wishes to extend their heartfelt thanks and appreciation toTrinity
Community Church, to our faithful prayer teams, to the diligent Lung Transplant Team
and to our caring doctors and nurses on M-6 at Stanford Hospital.