Alan Victor Schedin, Sparta, passed away peacefully on July 21, 2025, just shy of his 95th birthday. He was born July 31, 1930 to John and Alma (Olson) Schedin in Minneapolis, one of five siblings (Ruth, Freddie, Bob, and Julie). Alan was quite a lively character, especially as a youth, sometimes getting himself in a bit trouble playing pranks. But he also worked hard at unusual jobs, as when, at age 15, he and friend hitchhiked to Yellowstone for summer work; and at 17, when he was what was called a “gandy dancer,” laying railroad ties, also for a summer job.
He graduated from Washburn High School and later attended Dunwoody Industrial Institute, both in Minneapolis, for architectural drafting and estimating. He joined the Air Force in February 1951, and married Margie Pearson in July. His service took them to Anchorage, Alaska for three years at Elmendorf AFB during the Korean War, where he worked in Alaskan Air Command Intelligence as a cartographic draftsman with top-secret clearance during the Korean War. While there, his daughter Carrie Lynn was born in April 1954, and the family moved back to Minneapolis in October of that year where he worked for his father-in-law, Alvord E. Pearson, in his accounting service.
Alan was a man who constantly reinvented himself. In July 1956, the family moved to Denver, CO, where he began work at F. W. Woolworth, an early pioneer of the five-and-dime stores. He began as a construction draftsman, but transitioned to the store’s prestigious retail store management program. It was in 1961 that Alan and Margie adopted a three-month-old baby, naming him Eric Alan.
Moving to San Angelo, TX in 1962, Alan managed two Woolworth stores until 1966, when he was given a larger store in Greeley, CO, to where the family moved next. Always one to have fun at work, for which his employees adored him, he often could be found skateboarding or biking through the store!
He continued working in that capacity until 1968, when he switched careers again and became a stockbroker for Boettcher & Company, working in both Greeley and Denver. During this time, he got his private pilot’s license, became a co-owner of a Cessna 172, and often flew to nearby states to see his customers.
Feeling the call of change once again, in 1974, he began working for Duro Test Corporation as a commercial lighting salesman. In 1975, he was offered a position as a district sales manager in San Francisco. It was at that time, however, that he decided he’d had enough of working for others, and in a remarkable and risky decision, the couple decided to get out of the big city and work for themselves. Their chosen path was raising feeder pigs on a farm in Norwalk, as well as planting crops on most of the 100-acre spread. It was quite an adventure for them and their young son Eric (Carrie had remained in Denver), full of challenges and satisfactions, but one which ultimately didn’t work out as had been hoped.
So after realizing they had to sell the farm, Alan and Margie moved to Sparta in 1980. Calling on what experience they had had in farming, as well as both of their backgrounds in accounting, they opened their own business, naming it “Farm Records.” They served the bookkeeping and tax preparation needs of 135 local farmers for a little over twenty years. It was a wonderful experience, as they came to know the various farm families, offering not only their financial expertise, but sharing many personal aspects of their clients’ lives, attending weddings and funerals and getting to know them as much more than just customers. Also during this time, he obtained his real estate broker’s license, always looking for ways to try new things.
The tax business continued for Alan until around 2003, when he began working for a couple years as a pick-up driver for Brenengen’s, transporting cars to various points in Wisconsin and beyond.
In his late retirement, he and his second wife, Kathy, were able to do lots of traveling, including going to England, where they visited his sister Julie’s surviving husband Bill and his second wife Chris in their home in the beautiful Cotswolds region. While in England, they also visited Kathy’s ancestral home, the Bullman Round House in Little Thetford. Many trips were made to the western national parks here at home, the region always beckoning them to return. They truly enjoyed being together on their various trips, whether those modes of travel were by plane, on bus tours, driving cross country, or just meandering around the beautiful Wisconsin backroads. Their 20 years together was a testament to how much they meant to each other.
Throughout his long life, Alan enjoyed many activities. He was a member of Toastmasters, a non-profit organization that teaches public speaking skills; was a 32nd degree Mason; and was a member of many different church denominations—wherever he could find a good sermon. He was a terrific bowler, once achieving a score of 297; a runner, fisherman, bicycler, and tennis and racquetball player. But golf was his real passion, having begun playing at age nine, continuing until 89, when his bad back forced him to leave the links. He was well-known locally as having quite a smooth swing. In addition, when he lived in Denver, he once teamed up with LPGA champion Betsy King in a tournament. He never stopped working at bettering his game, studying and practicing almost daily, making the smallest tweaks to improve his score.
Another passion of his were his beloved Brittany bird-hunting dogs (Charlie, Tootsie, Belle, Penny, Molly and Slim), many of whom he had trained to hunt since they first became part of his family’s home life in 1967. For the last few years, he was a volunteer and supporter of the American Brittany Rescue.
Alan also was a great lover of music, having a vast collection of records, cassettes and CDs. As an early teenager, his Uncle Carl took him to all the big band orchestras at the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis. He was self-taught in playing the harmonica, piano, and some guitar and banjo. He also taught himself to tap dance, as had his sister Julie, and had been a lover of the early forms of dancing to big band music. His bass singing voice enhanced barbershop quartets and many church choirs.
Alan is preceded in death by son Eric in 1981; siblings Ruth, Freddie and Julie; and first wife Margie in 2018. A few of his canine friends that have preceded him are Charlie, Tootsie, Belle, Minnie, Brandie and Penny. He is survived by his current wife Katherine (Fruechte Hurd); daughter Carrie (John) Hitchcock; brother Bob (Vicki); stepdaughters Elise (Rob) Weinstein (grandchildren Britney and Lily), and Shelley (Ryan Stuempges) Hurd (grandchildren Maddex, Parker, Evelyn and Andrew). He also will be greatly missed by his current canine family members, Slim, Molly, and Blondie, the last of whom always rode on the floor of the scooter Alan used to move around in the house.
All services will be held at the Calvary Baptist Church, 601 W. Montgomery Street, in Sparta. Visitation will be on Friday, August 8, from 6-8 p.m., and a memorial service will be on Saturday, August 9, at 11 a.m., with an additional visitation just prior to the memorial service at 10 a.m. A light lunch of Alan’s favorites will be served following the service. Alan loved color, so feel free to honor him in this way. Online tributes can be left at https://www.firstwisconsincremation.com/obituaries
A private spreading of ashes will be held later at the Hohnholz Lakes area in Colorado, where the ashes of Eric and Margie were spread earlier.
Alan would be greatly pleased to have memorials in his honor directed to either the American Brittany Rescue (822 Wild Ginger Road, Sugar Grove, IL, 60554), or Tails of Hope Wisconsin (W1829 Pony Trail, Alma, WI, 54610).
His other hope would be that, when you think of him, you do something to help others by brightening their day in some way.
