Floyd Schram Jr.

GLENDIVE, MONTANA: Floyd Schram Jr., age 85, passed away on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 at the Glendive Medical Center in Glendive. Visitation will be held from 2:00 P.M. until 5:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M. on Thursday, March 18, 2010 in the Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home of Glendive. A Life Tribute Service will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Friday, March 19, 2010 in the Chapel of the Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home in Glendive with Celebrant Sandy Silha officiating. Interment with military honors will follow in the Dawson Memorial Cemetery in Glendive. Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home of Glendive has been entrusted with the arrangements. Floyd was born on June 30, 1924 in Vergas, Minnesota the son of Floyd Sr. and Marvel (Hanks) Schram. Floyd moved with his family to Glendive as a child. He attended Glendive Public Schools graduating from Dawson County High School with the class of 1943. Floyd joined the United States Navy in 1943. He received his honorable discharge from military service in 1946. Floyd married Betty Miller on July 3,1947 in Glendive. Mr. Schram made his home in Glendive his entire life. Floyd was employed by Montana Department of Transportation as a Patrol Operator for over 35 years, retiring in 1980. Floyd was a member of the Veteran of Foreign Wars Post #1125 and a member of the Moose Lodge #949. He loved to cut and hunt agates, he especially cherished the time that he spent teaching his grandchildren to hunt agates. He also enjoyed hunting and fishing and bowling on a league. The times he spent with his children and grandchildren at all of their sporting events was very important to him. He was preceded in death by his parents. Survivors include his wife Betty of Glendive; one son, Robert Floyd (Hallie) Schram of Billings, Montana; one daughter, Carolyn (Tim) Zody of Glendive; five grandchildren; eleven great grandchildren; two sisters, Lea Bell "Babe" (Harry) Svela of Surprise, Arizona and Audrey Featherstone of Butte, Montana. Remembrances and condolences may be shared witFloyd Schram Life Tribute Service Chapel of the Silvernale-Silha Funeral Home Glendive, Montana March 19, 2010 Welcome: Master of Ceremonies Introduction of Speakers: Celebrant Speakers: Grandchildren: Tauni Zody, Randy Schram Video Tribute Eulogy: Celebrant Death has touched us, and as we gather here to pay tribute to a loved one and a friend, Floyd Schram, let us remember and cherish those moments that each of us shared in some way with Floyd. “The biggest thing in today’s sorrow is the memory of yesterday’s joy.” (Kahlil Gibran) You have listened to a couple of his grandchildren speak of special times with Floyd. Everyone here has felt Floyd’s touch on their life and on their hearts. Perhaps it was a shared experience, perhaps it was his friendly personality, perhaps it was his loud, infectious laugh, or his knack for enjoying life and sharing that enjoyment with you, perhaps it was just in listening to his entertaining stories. Whatever it was, aren’t you blessed to have known Floyd and had him in your life? Floyd was born in Minnesota, and raised and educated in Glendive. Some of the stories he told were about football. Floyd loved those days in high school, playing on the football team. His sophomore year, he was not a starter, but got called off the bench to play, and he couldn’t get on the field fast enough. The team won the state championship that year, and Floyd had played enough minutes to receive one of the gold footballs that each member of the team was awarded. Floyd went on to play his junior and senior years. During high school, his nickname was “Rabbit” because he could run so fast and because his run had a bit of a hop to it. As a senior, World War II was going on and classmates were dropping out of high school to enlist. Floyd had enough credits to graduate in January of his senior year, which he did. He then enlisted in the United States Navy. Floyd served on a repair ship in the Pacific. He told many stories of his time in the War. He talked about being in China and Korea. When he was assigned to the ship, there was a list of duties the sailors could sign up for. Floyd signed up to man the “gedunk stand”. What this job involved was to make and serve ice cream to all the sailors on the ship and on the other ships they met. Floyd didn’t know how to make ice cream, but he choose that job. There was an instruction book on making ice cream and what ingredients to use, and it was his duty to get the supplies needed and make and serve the ice cream. Floyd loved his job. During his time in the Pacific, he only told of two dangerous times he encountered. One was when a Japanese kamakaze pilot came screaming right at his ship, but hit the one next to it. The other dangerous times occurred when Floyd would run out of ice cream with sailors waiting in line! Floyd always had a deep pride that he had served these United States with honor and dignity. After his return to Glendive from the Navy in 1946, Floyd worked as a lifeguard at the swimming pool over the summer. It was here that Betty Miller first knew Floyd. Betty was five years younger than Floyd and with him being gone she knew his sisters, but did not remember Floyd. Floyd and Betty were married the next summer and they made their home in Glendive. Floyd applied for a job at the Montana Department of Transportation as a Patrol Operator. A Patrol Operator drove the snowplows in the winter, and the equipment that mixed the oil and laid it down on the roads in the good weather. On the job application, Floyd said that he had the experience to do that job even though he had none, because it paid better than the job he was doing at the time. Floyd got the job, but because they thought he knew what he was doing, no one trained him on the equipment, he had to learn on his own. He learned well, took pride in his work, and became, according to others, the best operator the State ever had. Floyd held that job for over 35 years, before retiring in 1980. Floyd and Betty had two children, a son, Bob, and a daughter, Carolyn. The family grew to include five grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren. And for all of the family, hunting agates with Floyd was among the best of their memories. Floyd was a passionate agate hunter. He and the family first hunted agates in the hills. It was hard work climbing those hills and digging out the rocks, and then carrying them to the car. But Floyd was always so enthusiastic and excited about the hunting agates, he made it fun for everyone. Eventually Floyd got a boat and the agate hunting moved to the Yellowstone River. Son Bob shares his memories of agate hunting: “When I was 10 years old, my dad took me agate hunting in the hills. After a while I caught up with him to see what he had found. He had two bags full and I had two agates. When we got back to the car, he told me to walk over to that pile of rocks to look for agates. OI could not believe my eyes. There lay a four pound agate! Did my dad put that agate there? I have been hunting those agates ever since. Carolyn remembers being in high school, when Tim Zody asked her to go on their first date to the movie. Carolyn said yes, but it would have to be the late show. When Tim wanted to know why, Carolyn explained that she would not miss going agate hunting with her father, and she would not be back until later in the evening. It had to be the late show. Tim wasn’t going to have any of that, so Carolyn said no date. Tim reconsidered. And even took up agate hunting. Floyd was an expert at spotting agates. One of the agates he found in the hills, is pictured on the memory folder with Floyd holding it. When Floyd spotted the agate, only a very small portion was showing on the side of a hill, and Floyd kept digging and digging to get it out, not realizing how huge it was. The agate weighs 22 and a half pounds and was the trophy agate of all time for Floyd. He could be a bit of a prankster about them too. Once, Floyd’s by then son-in-law, Tim, found a weird looking rock. Floyd took one look at it and offered Tim $50 for the rock. Well, Tim knew if Floyd was willing to pay that, it must be something special. It turned out to be a mastedon tooth, which Floyd had recognized. Another common prank Floyd would pull was when the kids and grandkids were youngsters. He would give them a canvas bag to hunt with, and then lead them to rock piles where he had planted agates. He would get the kids so excited about their finds. Floyd would inspect them and, as granddaughter Kim says, treat those junkie agates like they were precious gems. He might even buy them from the kids, which made them feel like they had found a treasure. Floyd’s sister-in-law, Marilyn, had a granddaughter, Meg, who experienced one of these agate hunts. Meg was so thrilled with her treasure of agates, she kept them for years, and was in her early twenties before she found out that Floyd had planted the agates for her to find. And what did Floyd and his family do with all these agates. Well, Floyd also loved to cut and polish the agates. He had a friend who set some of them in jewelry. Some were sold. Betty tells that whenever they traveled they would load up the agates, and stop at rock shops to sell them. Betty says the agates paid for many vacations. Also, the rock gardens in Floyd and Betty’s and Tim and Carolyn’s yards do not have the decorative colored rock; their rock gardens have agate rocks in them. Will you ever pick up an agate or see one without thinking of Floyd? Another favorite of the family, that went along with the agate hunting, was the week-ends at the “Plantation.” This was a small piece of land along the river, north of Glendive, that Floyd and Betty acquired. Every week-end the family, along with Tim’s parents, Ardyce and Betty Zody, would go and stay in their motorhomes. Granddaughter Trisha, especially enjoyed the fishing she and her grandpa did during these week-ends of camping, swimming, agate hunting, and fishing. Every August, all the grandkids and great-grandkids would come to camp and agate hunt. Floyd’s love of agate hunting has left his family a legacy of wonderful memories. Throughout their married life, Floyd and Betty enjoyed dancing. Floyd’s favorite music was Lawrence Welk. The songs chosen for today’s service are sang by Norma Zimmer, a singer both Floyd and Betty enjoyed. Floyd and Betty also loved to travel. They made many road trips to western Montana and to Spokane to visit Betty’s sister. An annual favorite was going to Medora to the musical, usually with Tim and Carolyn. Floyd enjoyed eating at the fondue and having the popcorn during the show. When the emcee would introduce different groups of visitors attending the show and ask them to stand, Floyd stood every time when the veterans were invited to be recognized. Carolyn says they even got him out of his wheelchair this last year, so Floyd could proudly stand with the veterans. And whenever they played music before the show, Floyd would do his dance moves, even if he were in line to eat. Floyd liked to gamble and he liked games he could win. On trips to Vegas, Floyd would play the machines and dice. He was either pretty good or just plain lucky, as he often came home with more than he spent. Floyd also watched the stock market channel on television and played the market. He was good at that too. Carolyn would always have games with prizes for the family to play at Christmas and the holidays, and Floyd really went for poker, or the more competitive card games. Carolyn sometimes has piñatas, and she tells that her father could get right down on the floor to sweep up the piñata candy and prizes. One year they had a money candle as a prize for the games. Trish won the candle, and her grandpa kept trying to buy it from her. Inside the candle could be anything from $1 to $50, and you burn the candle to get to the money. As it was burning down, Trish finally sold the candle to her grandpa for about $5. Floyd had been telling her he was sure there was a 50 in it, and sure enough there was. Floyd was lucky that way. A special memory of Bob’s was the following: “While attending Dawson College, I would study at the kitchen table until midnight or later. When my Dad got home after bowling, he would always bring pizza for us as a midnight snack. This really hit the spot after all that homework.” Granddaughter Kim loved her grandpa’s big personality and his charisma. When he told one of his tall tales, Kim believed it because Floyd told it with such enthusiasm you didn’t dare not believe it. Besides, it was more fun to go along with it. Kim remembers Christmas’ at Carolyn’s when the grandkids would get a phone call from Santa. He would talk to each of the kids and even though it sounded like Grandpa, you believed because what if it was really Santa? Floyd also started growing a beard in the winter and with that gray beard, he would call himself Santa. Kim recalls, being a teenager, and one holiday a bearded Grandpa aka Santa, taking her for ice cream at Dairy Queen. He went through the drive-up, and when the girl asked for his order, Floyd proceeded to tell her it was Santa ordering and here’s what they wanted. Kim just slunk down in the back seat, mortified, thinking “oh my gosh!” But Floyd just picked up the order, continuing to ham up the Santa persona, much to Kim’s dismay. For a teenager, it was a moment of intense embarrassment, but as a memory, it is a treasure that always brings a smile. Ice cream with the grandkids was a favorite outing and Floyd would then drive to the swimming pool to watch the swimmers as they ate their ice cream. Kim also remembers when Floyd thought something was real cool, he would say it was “slicker than snot!” Kim and Tauni, about fifth graders at the time, recall a special vacation with Grandpa and Grandma in the motorhome to Fairmont Hot Springs. It was a big deal for the girls. They were busy playing gin rummy and listening to Ann Murray, as Grandpa drove, and Grandma fed them snacks. Somewhere along the way, Grandpa and Grandma went in to pay for gas or something, and a fight broke out between the girls, with crayons flying. Later as they were swimming at Fairmont, Grandma was sitting on the side of the pool because she really didn’t like the water, and Grandpa was somewhere in the middle of the pool with the girls swimming races to Grandpa. Kim and Tauni started playing around like they were drowning each other, and Grandma started getting nervous. Then it got serious and the fight that had started in the motorhome was back on, and the play drowning attempts became real. Both girls remember Grandpa yelling at them from the middle of the pool. Usually when he yelled, you listened, but this time it wasn’t working, and Grandma was yelling from the side. To this day, Kim and Tauni don’t remember why they were so angry at each other, but they know Grandpa and Grandma remember that vacation! Another of Marilyn’s granddaughters remembers coming for a visit and Floyd got her up early one morning, loaded her in his jeep and they headed out to Makoshika. They spent the day driving around the badlands, bouncing around in the jeep, with Floyd, his big laugh and his sense of fun making it a memorable day for the young girl. Marilyn loved her brother-in-law. She loved his laugh, his good stories, and he just was fun to be around! Betty and Carolyn tell that Floyd was a saver! He loved going to garage sales, and it was Betty’s pet peeve all the stuff he would bring home. He was always going to have a big sale of his own, but he never got that done. Floyd and Betty share a building with Carolyn and Tim. Carolyn says they call it the “got it” shop, because it’s got all Floyd’s treasures. Carolyn says half of their half is full of his stuff. No one is sure what is in there but they know they have a lot of it. It was just another of the things that Floyd was so enthusiastic and excited over, and you just didn’t argue with him about it. Floyd liked to be the boss of things anyway. He had strong opinions, and Carolyn had to institute a rule at her house of no talking politics, just to keep the peace. Another thing you heard about from Floyd was that no one could drive like him! So if he rode with you, you could expect he would think you were trying to kill him with your driving! Besides his fun, and enthusiastic personality, what will be missed by Floyd’s family and friends was the way he could make you feel special. He accomplished that because he was genuinely interested in you, excited for you to succeed and achieve, and he could make you feel that you were the best. He may not have said he was proud of you, but you knew he was because he would ask about what was going on with you in a tone that shouted approval. His family was his pride and joy. All the memories that you hold close to your hearts, all the fun times and wonderful experiences, all the love and laughter shared with this passionate and exuberant man surely tell us how fortunate the world was to have him walk through it for the past 85 years. Floyd Schram was greatly loved and he will be greatly missed. Let us now listen to Norma Zimmer sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” as we remember Floyd. Song: “You’ll Never Walk Alone” Time for Sharing: At this time anyone who would like to share a memory or story about Floyd, is invited to do so. Please come to the microphone so all may hear, and introduce yourself for those who may not know you. Closing: Celebrant When someone dies, a hole is left in our hearts. Floyd was a presence, a reminder of the joys of an exuberant life. His unique personality lifted the spirits of those he encountered and what a gift that was. Betty, Bob, Carolyn and all of Floyd’s family, as your friends and your community we cannot fill the void left by Floyd’s death, but we can say that we too will miss him and we too will not forget him. Let us continue to share his story in the weeks and months to come. “Remember me in your heart, in your thoughts, and may the memories of the times we loved, the memories of the times we shared stay with you, for if you always think of me, I will never be gone.” “We are the keepers of the memories. It is a sacred trust given to us by the one who has journeyed on.” (Glenda Stansbury) Let us learn from these memories just how precious life is, how important we are to each other, and how quickly life flies by. Let us learn from Floyd to find fun and laughter, adventure and discovery, pride and passion, and most importantly, let us share it with all whose lives we touch! Please join together and say the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer Floyd Schram Committal Service Dawson Memorial Cemetery Glendive, Montana March 19,2010 Military Honors: Glendive Veterans’ Honor Guard Celebrant: Final Fight “A precisely folded flag, a rifle salute fading way, Then the lonely sound of taps; tells us a sailor has gone away. His Earthly battle is over; we know he gave his best, Gone is a defender of freedom; we weep as he is laid to rest. Our land became the greatest because of soldiers like this one, Who remained faithful to the end, who would not quit until the fight was won!” It is an important day when we stop to bear witness to a person’s life and times among us, the difference his living and dying made among family and community, and to take time to express our grief, our hope and our memories. Thank you for being here for this important time. Floyd Schram brings to rest all his nameless acts of kindness and love. But they will long be remembered and this now will be a sacred and special place. “For where there is sorrow, there is holy ground.” It is here that you will come to feel the presence and love you shared in life. Some will visit often; others only on rare occasions; all who come will be blessed. It is here we show honor to a life that touched us. Although we say good-bye to Floyd’s physical presence, his memory remains alive in our hearts. In a moment we will play the song, “You’re a Grand Old Flag” and Floyd’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren will release red, white, and blue balloons to honor Floyd and his great love of country. At the conclusion of the song, the family invites you to join them in leaving a penny with Floyd as a symbol of the loving thoughts we have for him. As we go about life and find a penny in an unexpected place at an unexpected time, these “pennies from heaven” tell us that Floyd is thinking of us and sending his love and friendship our way. As we bid Floyd farewell, we hope he knows that in life he was greatly loved, and in death he will be greatly missed. Please listen, watch and remember. Floyd Schram, may you rest in peace. Song: “You’re A Grand Old Flag” & balloon release “Pennies from Heaven” Song: “God Bless America” h the family at: www.silvernale-silhafuneralhome.com

Floyd Schram Jr.

June 30, 1924 - March 19, 2010

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Floyd Schram Jr.

June 30, 1924 - March 19, 2010

What We Do

Flowers & Gifts

Plan Ahead

About Us

Resources

Obituaries

Grief & Healing

Contact Information

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