Russell James Schumacher was born November 27, 1942 in Grafton, North Dakota to Arthur and Amy (Nelson) Schumacher. He was baptized in Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Walsh County and confirmed in Trinity Lutheran Church in Drayton, ND. He attended St. Andrew’s District 14 country school near Drayton, North Dakota through the eighth grade. In the Fall of 1956-1961 he attended high school at Northwest School of Agriculture at Crookston, Minnesota, graduating as valedictorian of his class. In June 1965 he received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, ND. On August 13, 1966 he received his Master’s Degree at the University of North Dakota and, shortly thereafter, took and passed the CPA Exam. In 1967, he went to work for Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. in San Francisco, CA as an auditor. In 1974 he purchased the family farm and returned to Drayton to return to farming which was his desired occupation in life. In 1991, he married Susan Haugen and they spent much of their life together enjoying this occupation and location. In later years, they would travel to Arizona and California to decide where they should spend their winters and settled in Indio, CA which they enjoyed for many years. After retiring from farming, they purchased a home in Lacey, Washington for the summer months and to be close to Susan’s children and Russ’ stepchildren, Cory Thompson and Angie Karnes and four grandchildren; Erica and Victoria Nguyen; and Emily and Russell Karnes.
Russ had a zest for life and enjoyed many hobbies that he excelled at, such as snow skiing, scuba diving, golfing, biking, hiking, and when residing in San Francisco he got his airplane pilot’s license. He enjoyed traveling, spending time in the Baja and a summer traveling in Europe with a friend. Russ and Sue liked to travel and cruise traveling to Norway with Russ’ mom and siblings, cruising and sightseeing in Alaska, cruising in the Caribbean and relaxing in Jamaica and Hawaii.
Russ is survived by his loving wife, Susan, and five sisters, Kathy Rath (Doug), Bismarck, ND; Wanda Terpening, Maddock, ND; Val Lacovangelo, Niskayuna, NY; Loretta Nicholas, Centreville, VA; and Lorna (Bill) Hildebrandt, McGregor, TX; and sister-in-law Phyllis Schumacher, N. Scituate, RI. His parents, brother Milt and brothers-in-law John Nicholas and Bruce Terpening preceded him to their permanent home in heaven.
Russell passed away on June 19, 2024 and will be returned to North Dakota for a funeral at Trinity Lutheran Church in Drayton and burial in Zion Cemetery, Acton Twp, Walsh County close to the family farm. The funeral will be held August 23 at 10am. There will be a gathering for family and friends the evening of August 22nd at 5pm for reminiscing at Hastings Landing restaurant in Drayton. In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to The Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson Research, Grand Central Staton, PO Box 4777, New York, NY 10163 or you can donate online for research to cure this disease that Russ struggled with and that took his life. Russ also supported Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, 6301 19th Ave NW, Minot, ND 58703