Cleo May (Heilman) Schneider

Cleo May Schneider, 54, of Aberdeen, passed away peacefully on Saturday, July 25, 2020, at Avera St. Luke’s Hospital in Aberdeen, following a courageous battle with brain cancer.

Her funeral service will be 10:30 a.m., Thursday, July 30, 2020, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 409 3rd Avenue SE, Aberdeen, with Father Michael Kapperman officiating.  Cleo’s family respectfully requests that social distancing guidelines be followed at her funeral.

Burial will follow at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Aberdeen.  

Schriver’s Memorial Mortuary and Crematory, 414 5th Avenue NW, Aberdeen, is in charge of arrangements. 

Visitation will be 5-7 p.m., Wednesday, at the mortuary, with family present for greetings while respecting social distancing.  Visitation continues one hour before the service at the church on Thursday. 

Family and friends may sign Cleo’s online guestbook and view her service via the live stream service link at www.schriversmemorial.com.

Cleo May Heilman was born November 12, 1965, in Aberdeen, SD to Donald and Darnelda (Ehresmann) Heilman.  She grew up on the family farm northeast of Bowdle, SD and attended the Hosmer School District.  After graduating high school in 1984, Cleo furthered her education at the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND and graduating in 1988 with a nursing degree.  She later accepted a nursing position with Avera St. Luke’s Hospital in Aberdeen, where she was employed for over 23 years.

Cleo was united in marriage to Neal Schneider on September 23, 1995.  They were blessed with two sons, Kaleb and Dylan.  In January of 2012, Cleo began employment as the Nurse Manager with the Conklin Regional Cancer Center in Aberdeen.  Sadly, in August of that year, she was diagnosed with brain cancer.

Cleo was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Aberdeen.  She was a huge booster of her sons’ athletic activities in the Aberdeen School District and deeply loved getting together with family and friends as much as possible.  Cleo especially loved camping and fishing in the summer months.

Cleo was a truly wonderful wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend.  She was a terrific nurse and was always putting other people’s needs first.  Cleo was loving, caring, humorous, and compassionate.  She had a true love for farming and was always Donnie’s (her dad’s) favorite “farm girl”.  Cleo touched countless people’s lives and she will be deeply missed.

Blessed to have shared Cleo’s life is her husband of almost 25 years, Neal Schneider, and their sons, Kaleb and Dylan, all of Aberdeen; brothers, James Heilman of Bowdle, SD and Dale (Holly) Heilman of Watertown, SD; sisters, Carla (Curt) Sayler of Jamestown, ND and Lisa (Darwin) Sauer of Warner, SD; mother-in-law, Violet Schneider of Redfield, SD; sister-in-law, Carol Schneider of Watertown, SD; three aunts; one uncle; and 11 nieces and nephews.

Cleo was preceded in death by her parents, Donald and Darnelda Heilman; grandparents:  Matt and Mary Heilman and Fred and Magdalena Ehresmann; father-in-law, Art Schneider; one aunt; one uncle; and one nephew, Landon Sauer.

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