Hubert Rudolph Schneider

Hubert (Zube to everyone who knew him) Schneider, 89, of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, passed away on May 17, 2024. He was born October 1934, in St. Walburg, Saskatchewan.

He was raised on a farm outside of St. Walburg, attended school, finishing grade 8 but later earned his grade 10 by correspondence. He worked as a plumber’s assistant for Lawrence Etcheverry of Central Plumbing and Heating. He was sitting on the steps of the hardware store in St. Walburg when he saw his wife to be going to the movie theatre. He didn’t have any money for a ticket so he went home and borrowed some money from his mother, bought a ticket and sat beside her, and that was how it started.  As both of their parents did not have a lot of money they decided to elope and get married in North Battleford in November of 1960. They thought everything was arranged but when it came time for the wedding at the church there were no witnesses. After a few phone calls the church managed to get “a best man and maid of honour” and the wedding proceeded. They honeymooned at the King George hotel in Saskatoon. When they were leaving the next day he found a $6.00 parking ticket on his windshield as they were late leaving because they “slept in”. They would have celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary in November.

After he met our mother, he felt he had better get a real job so he started working with the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool buying grain. He worked as an elevator agent in Spruce Lake, Bolney and St. Walburg. He opened a brand-new elevator in St. Walburg and the first load of grain he bought was from his father, hauled in a horse drawn wagon. Zube was promoted to Area Superintendent and moved his family to Kindersley. After seven years he was transferred to Yorkton. He was in Yorkton for seven years and was transferred to Melfort where he eventually retired from the Wheat Pool after 33 years of service.  He could not be without a job so he worked as a hail adjuster for Co-op Hail and at the Melfort Co-op for his brother Gene, repairing items for sale. Hubert and Emma eventually moved to Saskatoon in 1997. He needed to have a purpose so he started to drive cars for Midcan Brokers Inc. As he always stated “I’m a professional driver” to us this suited him to a “T”.

Zube was a very caring man who enjoyed the company of family and friends. He loved socializing, the outdoors and working, always saying his working days were the best days of his life. As a young man, he was very athletic, excelling at baseball as a pitcher and being pretty handy with a bat. He also played hockey and curled. He was a member of the St. Walburg Elks club for a brief time. He enjoyed hunting and fishing. Trips to Jan Lake with family were special for him, we could never catch as many fish as he did. He enjoyed watching the Blue Jays and Saskatchewan Rough Riders as well as his grandson Nick playing hockey. In his later years, he found joy in donating money to the Dakota Dunes Casino, we were told sometimes he won.

Hubert was very close to his eight siblings and enjoyed spending time with them when the opportunity presented itself. His relationship with them was something he treasured. He would tell us stories of growing up on the farm, it made some of the things we did as children seem pretty tame.

He is survived by his spouse Emma, children Michelle, Darrel (Tracey), Darren (Darla) and Vanessa, sister Elma, brother Eugene (Darlene), sister-in-law’s Verda and Mary, grandchildren Tennyson (Jocelyn), Deidre (Obuks), Ashley, Nicholas, Evan, Daniel and great grandchildren Trey, Caelum and Jonah. He was preceded in death by his parents August and Mary Schneider, brothers August, Clem, Nicholas (Betty) and Joseph (Alice), sisters Mary (Paul) and Josephine (Alfred) and brother-in-law Hank.

Zube was a dedicated Roman Catholic and worshipped accordingly. He said he was going to fly in the sky when he was gone, hopefully he filed a flight plan.

Hubert survived prostate cancer and bladder cancer. His mind was sharp and he had a quick wit, unfortunately his body was not up for the task.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Cancer Society as cancer has had a fondness for his family. The cremation will be handled by Prairieview in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. As per his wishes there will be no funeral. Many thanks to the ER staff at Saskatoon City Hospital and the staff on 5100 at Royal University Hospital for their care and compassion.