Randall Robert Schoenfelder, 81, a retired lifetime Rochester farmer, cut his last swath on Wednesday, April 2 at Samaritan Bethany Care Center following complications of pneumonia/congestive heart failure.
Randy was born October 9, 1943 in Rochester, to Robert”Bob” and Helen(Sheehan) Schoenfelder. He graduated from Lourdes High School in 1962 and attended the U of M for a quarter, before enlisting in the National Guard where he was stationed in Fort Polk, LA. He was honorably discharged from the reserves due to a heart condition. Following this, he returned to the farm to help his father. He and Patricia, “Patty” Gulden made their way to the altar on January 11, 1969 and were blissfully joined in marriage for 55 years until Patty’s death in 2024. Their union produced 3 stellar children!
Randy’s college career may or may not have been marked by a few “F’s”; this transcript has mysteriously disappeared. Those early unwanted “F’s” morphed into a string of “F’s” that defined his life: faith, farm, father, finances, frugal, football, and maybe another “F” word that was known to be uttered on the farm. In retrospect, Randy proved that you can turn “F’s” into “A’s” with a life well lived. With the exception of football, these “F’s” formed the foundation of what would be a defining part of his legacy: provider!!
2024 was a very difficult year for Randy and his family as he lost his daughter and wife two months apart, followed by his sister-in-law(Barb). In typical stoic Randy fashion, he put into practice what years of farming had taught him: perseverance. The reality quickly set in that no person or diversion could fill the void his wife left and we draw immense solace that they can once again hound each other.
As 4th generation farmers, Randy and his brother(Ken) successfully operated Schoenfelder Farms for 25 years under the watchful eye of their father until transitioning it to the 5 th generation in 2001. In his time as co-owner of the farm, he chose to begin and modernize a farrow to finish sow farm. This allowed a much needed escape from the “ol’ man”: “ No cattleman would dare tread in the hog barns.” He soon proved to his dad that both cattle and pig poo smelled like money.
In the early retirement years, he and his wife began a string of treks that took them to New Zealand, Australia, the Holy Land, and Antarctica to name a few. In his later years, Pat and Jill traveled by themselves while Randy stayed home and embraced the junk food lifestyle without the prying eyes of his health crazed wife! In addition to the intermittent travel, his retirement was punctuated by three main hobbies: parts runner, lawn specialist for his wife, and investor.
Since work is a form of prayer, Randy may have prayed more than some priests due to a farmer’s long hours. As we all know, some prayers are not answered to our satisfaction, he went to the other side of the veil still puzzled by many of the apparent contradictions and paradoxes of this Catholic faith, but the counterweight to this uncertainty was always the faith he had seen modeled by his mother and wife.
He is survived by his two sons: John(Therese) and Jeff(Jennifer) of Rochester; son-in-law, Shawn of Woodbury; his sister, Bernie(Patrick) Stevens of St. Charles; brother, Ken(Pat)Schoenfelder of Rochester; sister, Carol(Kerry) Hofner of Inver Grove; and sister, Deb Haas of Rochester, along with grandchildren: Tyler(Samantha), Braeden, Krista(Greg), Keelyn, Joel, Cassidy, Xi’an, Reilyn, Kelton, Zyana, Jaelyn, and Yanise. He has one great- granddaughter, Harriet, with another great grand-child due in June. He is also survived by four brothers-in-law: Ron(Judy) Gulden, Mike(Jackie) Gulden, Mark Gulden, and Bill(Holly) Gulden, along with nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, wife, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and daughter. He chose to donate his brain and heart to Mayo Clinic for research. He was always grateful to Mayo for the mechanical mitral heart valve he received in 1979(a Bjork-Shiley valve) that lasted until his death.
Visitation will be from 5-8pm(rosary at 7:30 pm) on April 6, 2025 at Church of the Resurrection 1600 11 th Ave. SE Rochester, MN with a private funeral Mass following on April 7, 2025 at 1pm with Fr. Jim Steffes, officiating. A private burial will be at a later date at St. Bridget’s Catholic Cemetery in Simpson, MN.
To honor Randy at his visitation and his vogue fashion, please don your favorite plaid and jeans or wear his favorite color, blue.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to Family Promise: 1621 10 th St. SE
Rochester, MN 55904
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