Brian Donald Schumacher

Brian Donald Schumacher, 48, of La Crescent, MN, passed away on Sunday, May 20 while on a dream fly fishing vacation in Iceland. He was the beloved husband of Janet Veit, who died alongside him. Brian was born on February 13, 1970 in La Crosse, WI to Donald Herbert and Ruth Ann (Wurzel) Schumacher. Brian graduated from La Crescent High School and then from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse with a Bachelor of Science in Biology/Chemistry. On October 2, 1999, he married the love of his life, Janet Doreen Veit in Mooreton, ND. They both loved life and enjoyed being together. Brian said once, “A couple who wades together stays together.”

Brian worked for 25 years at Gundersen Health System as a Histology Technician. He was also a guide at The Driftless Fly Fishing Company in Preston, MN, the “Trout Capital of Minnesota.” This passion for fly fishing had taken him, along with his wife, Janet, a fellow fly fishing enthusiast, to the streams of the high Sierra Nevada range in California, to the Connecticut and Androscoggin Rivers in New Hampshire and many destinations in between. He was also a member of the Coulee Kennel Club where he showed his dogs and also showed dogs for a number of friends. He designed the club logo in high school which is still used today. Brian was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting turkey, deer, upland birds and waterfowl, and an ardent fly angler. He loved to draw and enjoyed writing articles for Midwest Hunting & Fishing and Minnesota Trout Unlimited. He was very active in the local Win-Cres Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

Brian is survived by his mother, Ruth Ann Schumacher, three sisters, Susan (James) Buehler of La Crescent, Pamela (David) Gjere of La Crescent, MN and Lisa (Kenneth) Koetz of Winona, MN, an aunt Rose (Wurzel) Ellingsworth, nieces and nephews, Wendy (Wade) Snuggerud, Paula (Dustin) Jessop, Mike Buehler, Chad (Nikki) Gjere, Amy Gjere, Kevin (Ann) Koetz, Keith Koetz, Jennifer Koetz, Kendra (Sam Watkowski) Koetz, and Kelli Koetz, great nieces and nephews, Dominic Jessop, Atticus Jessop, Harris Gjere, Porter Gjere, Brooklyn Mitchell, and Megan Koetz, their pets, Dora, Angus, Nigel and Cass, and countless friends and co-workers with whom he touched with his great sense of humor, wisdom and smile. In addition to his wife Janet, he was preceded in death by his father Donald and grandparents, Frank and Leona Wurzel and George and Gertrude Schumacher.

A memorial service for Brian and Janet will be held at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in La Crescent MN on Monday, June 11, 2018 where a visitation will be held from 3:00 – 5:00 PM, followed by the service at 5:00 PM. Burial will be a private event for immediate family only. Memorial donations can be sent to Win-Cres Chapter of Trout Unlimited, 2199 Clinton Drive, Winona, MN  55987.