Mark C. Schumacher

Mark Calvin Schumacher, 68, died peacefully at Oakwood Care Center in Clear Lake on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022 surrounded by his family. 

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22, at Zion Lutheran Church, 112 4th Street, Clear Lake, with the Revs. Jason Miller and Steve Bang officiating.  Iowa State Patrol Honor Guard will conduct a flag folding ceremony.  Inurnment will be in Clear Lake Cemetery.

Visitation will be held Friday, Oct. 21, from 5-7 p.m. at Ward Van Slyke Colonial Chapel, 310 1st Ave. North, Clear Lake; and continue one hour prior to the service at the church on Saturday.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations can be made to the Zion Lutheran Church Build to Last Program in Clear Lake, Iowa, Mercy One Hospice of North Iowa, Compassion International, The Navigators, American Battlefield Trust or the Oregon-California Trail Association.

Mark was born March 15, 1954 to the Rev. Calvin and Ruth (Schlimmer) Schumacher in Houston, Texas.  He graduated from Clarence High School in Clarence, Iowa in 1972 and then moved on to Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg to achieve his BA in Criminal Justice and criminology in the spring of 1976.  

Mark became an Iowa State Patrol Trooper, badge number 226 on July 2, 1976 and served until his retirement in May of 2009.   While a Trooper he served as a hostage negotiator, and a technical investigator, covering the analysis of serious auto accidents, and was also well known throughout the state as “Mister 321” for his knowledge of that section of the Iowa Code on Motor Vehicle Law which he taught for several years at the Law Enforcement Academy.  Mark was promoted to Sergeant in the summer of 1993 and also served on several State Patrol committees.

Mark was an avid golfer and enjoyed outings with his golf group during the early part of his retirement.  He loved to sing and shared his amazing bass voice with the River City Barbershop Chorus receiving the honor of Barbershopper of the Year in 1990.  He also sang in Zion’s Family Choir and several smaller singing groups including one in Wheatland, Iowa, where he and Beth Ann first noticed each other while singing Handel’s Messiah in a community concert.  

In retirement Mark also served as a blood driver for Life Serve, an interim director of worship ministries for Zion Lutheran Church, Lay Assistant for traditional worship at Zion and a teacher of adult confirmation classes and Sunday School.  He helped serve Meals on Wheels and he and Beth Ann even served as “disc jockies” at KCMR radio for a time and assisted with the therapeutic horseback riding program at Harmony Ranch in Clear Lake.

Mark and Beth Ann also shared a love of history and spent many of their vacations traveling to Civil War battlefields and walking on every National Park Service ranger-led walk that they could fit in.  They have passed their love of history on to their girls and history has always been a part of every family trip – even following the Oregon Trail.  When Mark was diagnosed with Anterior Horn Cell Disease, an uncurable disease, in 2015, travel continued as Mark and Beth Ann took special trips to Hawaii, France, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and New Hampshire.    

Mark is survived by Beth Ann, his wife of more than 42 years, and daughters, Abigail and Ashley, of Mason City.  He is also survived by a sister, Marla (Joe) Tedesco, of Loudon, Tenn. and a brother Matthew (Lisa) Schumacher, of Johnston, Iowa; as well as numerous in-laws, cousins, nieces and nephews.   He was predeceased by his parents, Calvin and Ruth.  

Ward Van Slyke Colonial Chapel, Clear Lake, was in charge of arrangements.