Howard Andrew (Andy) Schaad, Galesburg Chapel
89, formerly of 490 Soangetaha Road, Galesburg, IL died peacefully at 7:20 p.m. on Friday, July 9, 2010, at his home in Orland Park with his family by his side.
Born in Riverside, Iowa on August 31, 1920, he was the second child of Carl and Marguerite (Snell) Schaad. He is preceded in death by his parents; his two sisters, Beulah (Schaad) Lyanaugh and Carolyn (Schaad) Wheeler and his brother, Carlisle Schaad.
He is survived by his beloved wife of 68 years, Rachel, and his seven children: Carl (Nancy) Schaad; Rosemary Madigan; Anthony (Margaret) Schaad; Richard (Beatrice) Schaad; Marguerite (Michael) Mercer; Johanna Liebetrau; and Gina (Russell) Merritt; sixteen grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren; and countless nieces and nephews.
Born in Riverside, Iowa he moved with his family to Abingdon, Illinois in 1938; attended Abingdon High School and married Rachel (nee Mangieri) on January 1, 1942. Not waiting to be called into service, he left his job with the Abingdon telephone company and enlisted in the US Navy. He served as an aviation machinist and supported the US Navy's dirigible (blimp) operations off the coast of Africa during WWII. He was honorably discharged from service in 1945.
Returning stateside, he immediately began working at an Abingdon factory making the bricks to be used in constructing the Harbor Lights restaurant owned by his brothers-in-law. He later provided for his growing family as an employee of Bell Telephone and then the Illinois Power and Light Company.
Endowed with a keen entrepreneurial spirit, he entered the field of sales through a position with New York Life Insurance. Later he found what was to become his life's passion – the field of electronics – when he accepted a sales position with Fairchild Electric. In 1972, Andy and his family moved to St. Louis where he continued his work in electronics with the early micro-chip industry. He was very proud of the fact that his product was sold to a supplier of NASA and he made the acquaintance of Astronaut Gordon Cooper. He returned to Galesburg, Illinois in 1974 and founded Schaad & Associates, a micro-chip distributorship.
In 1989, he contracted with the state of Illinois as a Field Representative and Consultant in the Prairie State 2000 Authority program, assisting small businesses in grant-writing and training. He retired from this position in 2004.
The owner of a most creative mind, he was granted several patents during his career, and he continued every day until the end to explore the mysteries of the electronic/digital age. He was working on one more device at the time of his death.
Andy, as he was known to family and friends, was a large man, a kind and gentle man, an adventurer, explorer, creator. He had a beautiful singing voice and was a fierce Notre Dame "Fighting Irish" football fan. He is remembered for always smiling and pulling his myriad of grandchildren, nieces, and nephews into large bear hugs and patting their cheeks ‘til they begged for mercy.
We send him to the Lord with the heartfelt words he himself would always use to say good bye — "God Bless."

Funeral mass will be Wednesday, July 14th, at 10:00 a.m. in Corpus Christi Church, 273 S. Prairie St., Galesburg, IL. Rev. William Miller and Rev. Francis Oman will concelebrate. Visitation will be Tuesday, July 13th, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., at Hinchliff-Pearson-West Galesburg Chapel, where the Rosary will be prayed at 7:00 p.m. Burial will be in Abingdon Cemetery. Military Rites conducted by Harry E. Wiles American Legion Post #381. Memorial may be made to Rosminian Institute of Charity, Peoria, IL.

Hinchliff-Pearson-West Galesburg