September 19, 1949 – March 31, 2024
John Schroder, Sr. was born on September 19, 1949 to Alfred and Laura Schroder in Ainsworth, NE. John was raised on the family’s ranches in Rock and Loup counties during his younger years. John graduated from high school in 1967 from Loup County High School and he couldn’t wait to try his skills at being a cowboy on larger ranches. John and his friend, Tim Naab, journeyed to Grand County, NE when John found work on the Minor Ranch and immediately started becoming a cowboy in every sense of the word. John was trusted with feeding hay with his own team of horses and became quite skilled at driving his team, even helping to put up hay with them. John was trusted with cattle work and loved the overnight cattle drives and learning from the ranchers how to handle any situation thrown his way. It was on the Minor Ranch where John met his future wife, Sandy (Blakey) Schroder and they married and moved to their marital home deep in the Sandhills of the Minor Ranch. They welcomed their first child, Johnny, Jr. here, and made their home together.
John continued to learn about shoeing horses, breaking colts and leather work. He loved meeting new cowboys, both young and old, and sharing stories about ranching. John and Sandy moved to Atkinson, NE where John worked in a feedlot and continue to work with his horses and blue heeler dogs. John and Sandy took part in youth rodeos and John taught Johnny how to rope and hang on to wild Shetland ponies. John and Sandy welcomed their daughter, Michelle, and John loved showing her how to ride the bucket calves while he held them down and encourage her to compete in rodeos with her brother.
John loved calf roping and trained his horse, Barney, how to be a winner. John spent many Sundays competing in jackpot rodeos in Atkinson at Doc White’s barn and training horses with his friends. John and Sandy then moved to Springview area, and they encouraged him to join the Norden Roping Club. John loved packing up the horse trailer with as many horses, ponies and roping calves as he could squeeze in. John and Johnny spent many nights roping under the lights with their friends and having fun and winning a few buckles along the way. In 1981 John and Sandy got a chance to move to Loup County and work for Harmon Farms on a cattle ranch in the Sandhills. John and Sandy took a leap of faith and returned back to the same county where John had grown up. They taught their children to work in the hay field, calve out heifers, tag calves, do everything vet related and work as a team. The four Schroder’s, under the watchful eye of John, moved onward and upward. They helped build a larger and better cattle herd, added acres to the ranch and developed the hay fields and irrigation systems. John could fix, build or operate anything that was needed for the ranch. While working for Harmons. John and Sandy set a goal to create a separate cow herd of their own, and they worked outside jobs, trading hay and labor for Angus cows. John and Sandy were able to buy a place of their own and for once, John did not have a boss. He was able to call the shots, and he loved having the ability to be proud of their accomplishments and doing what he thought was best for his family and his ranch. John and Sandy were able to pay off the ranch before his passing, and he was very proud to know no one could take away their dream.
While John and Sandy were working hard to build their own dream, they volunteered to be on the Taylor Junior Rodeo Committee and John served as a member from 1981 to 2024. He never missed a rodeo and he spent countless hours preparing, building fences, rounding up livestock and gathering donations. He loved the rodeo and he loved the kids that he helped. He loved finding team roping partners for the kids that wanted to compete, but didn’t know anyone to ask to rope with them. John loved seeing the kids with their prizes and their smiles.
Although time slowed him down, John made sure the rodeo was in good hands. He found volunteers to take his place with the more demanding tasks, but he was always there, observing, smiling and writing the checks. Along with the Taylor Jr. Rodeo, John and Sandy were adult sponsors for the Taylor High School Rodeo Club and made sure that every year, the kids held a rodeo to be proud of. John loved rodeo. He loved hauling his kids to their Junior rodeos, high school rodeos and he tried to hit all of Johnny’s Mid-States events that he could make it to.
John loved watching his grandsons, JW and Dean, Compete in their rodeos and John and Sandy spent numerous hours helping with practice rides, travel and sitting in bleachers. John and Sandy traveled to Tennessee and Wyoming for National Finals competitions for their grandsons and to college rodeos all over the country for their grandsons as well. It was with great pride that John let people know “those are my grandsons.”
John loved to be mounted on a good horse. He loved horse trainers and loved learning from them. John especially respected Ray Hunt, and used Ray’s techniques in training his own horses and helping others train theirs. John used his cowboy skills everywhere he went with his horses. He was always prepared to rope a calf, chase down a cow or lead the cows to summer pasture on a cattle drive. John loved teaching his kids and grandkids about the inner workings of being a cowboy and he mentored several kids in 4-H. His passion was the horse project, but he was known to help Michelle pick out a chicken or a barn cat for the county fair.
John loved the western way of life and never wanted anything different. He loved his tall top boots and was often found with his pant legs tucked neatly inside of them. He loved a good black hat, silk scarf, pair of Levi’s a shirt with snaps and his denim jacket. He always had a hankie in his pocket and a good pocket knife. He loved spending time branding with neighbors, talking about the food, things happening in their lives, sharing stories about the horses that they had lost and the ones that they hoped to have, planning something mischievous to do and laughing. John walked the cowboy walk and he did it all with a smile on his face and with a whistle and a two-step.
John was honored with a lifetime Achievement Award for his service as a Loup County Volunteer Firefighter for 35 plus years, honored as a 4-H volunteer, 40 years of volunteer service to the Taylor Jr. Rodeo, President of the Loup County Farm Bureau, zoning committee for Loup County and a sponsor for the Taylor Junior Rodeo.