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Lloyd Frederick Schneider was born on November 24, 1942 at Tacoma General Hospital, to parents Reinhardt and Eugenie Schneider.  Lloyd and his two older brothers (Walter and Herbie) grew up on a small family berry farm in Puyallup.  Lloyd’s father supported the family through a variety of professions ranging from farming to repairing pianos while Lloyd’s mother cared for the family at home.  Aside from working on the berry farm, Lloyd worked on cars and as an usher at the Puyallup fair. 

In 1960 Lloyd graduated from Puyallup High School and met his future wife Barb at a Lutheran Youth Conference in Yakima, WA.  Lloyd and Barb reconnected a short time later, started dating in 1962, and were married in Tacoma on August 29, 1964.  In 1964, Lloyd also graduated from Pacific Lutheran University and joined the US Air Force. 

Upon joining the USAF, Lloyd was quickly thrust into the conflict of the Vietnam war where he served as a navigator on the B-52.  Lloyd was later accepted into pilot training and on May 9, 1970 graduated #1 in his class from Pilot Training at Shepherd Air Force Base in Texas.  Through his USAF flying career Lloyd was a pilot on the RF-4C, instructor pilot of the T-38, and moved with his family to California, Texas, Florida, Arizona, Alabama, South Carolina, back to Washington, back to South Carolina, Zweibrucken, Germany, and finally returned to Washington.  Lloyd also had deployments to Thailand and Guam.  Lloyd’s daughter Heidi was born while he was in Guam and Barb was at March Air Force Base in Riverside, CA.  Lloyd met Heidi 6 months later.  Lloyd’s son David was born at Williams Air Force Base in Mesa, AZ while Lloyd was flying.  He turned around and landed as quickly as he could, arriving a couple of hours later.  Lloyd retired from the USAF in 1986 and shortly thereafter was hired as a pilot for American Airlines.  Lloyd flew for American Airlines until 2002, when he retired as a Captain of a Boeing 767.  During his time with American, he flew out of Dallas/Ft. Worth, Los Angeles, Boston and New York and he and Barb spent a few years living on Long Island, NY exploring the East Coast. 

Second to the love of his family, Lloyd loved boats and spending time on the water. Ranging from ski boats in his early Air Force Days to his 55’ pilothouse “Sojourn,” he enjoyed boating his entire life, cruising all along the southern coast of California, Catalina and the Channel Islands, as well as throughout Puget Sound and British Columbia with Barb and numerous friends and family who joined them.  He shared his love of the water with his family, teaching his grandchildren how to pilot the dingy, set fenders and tie appropriate knots, as well as taking them to sailing camp. He and Barb also enjoyed commercial cruises and crossed many oceans around the world visiting Australia, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, North America, the Panama Canal and many places along the way. 

When at home Lloyd stayed busy.  He could maintain anything with an engine, repair anything around the home, build anything out of wood, design buildings and home remodels, create personalized, highly detailed birthday cakes, and provide advice and support to anyone who needed it. 

Lloyd is survived by his beloved wife of 58 years, Barbara Schneider, daughter Heidi (Tyler), son Dave (Jamie), grandchildren Annika, Lily, Aubrey, Saylor and Clara, brother Walter (Evelyn) and numerous in-laws, nieces, nephews and cousins across the United States, Canada and Germany.   
 

A Service for Lloyd will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, January 14, 2023 at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Lacey, WA.   

 
Donations may be made in his name to: 

https://www.stmarklacey.org/ 
https://www.garysinisefoundation.org/ to support Veterans, Defenders, First Responders and their Families 
https://kidstown.org/