John Walter Schnaidt merged with the infinite on Friday, August 2, 2024 after a harrowing year-long contest with cancer. He was 69.
John was born on August 4, 1954 to Robert and Katharine Schnaidt in San Jose, CA. The son of a highly successful agriculturalist, John and his two sisters Roberta and Susan eventually came to
reside in the Central Valley. Holding a variety of jobs including store engineer at Sears and owner of public address audio equipment company Elephant Sound, John's permanent gig came in the form of a lab technician at Hexcel Corp. While with Hexcel Corp., John was tasked with materials testing for myriad strength, tensile and structural integrity properties. Or, as he simply put it to his children, "Dad is in charge of breaking
stuff." Over his 38-year career at the Dublin-based company, John made many friends, a contingent of which shared his enthusiasm for rocking rhythms.
John's fanatical love of all things music would manifest itself in a band with a coworker called The Johns, eponymous named after two of its members. His infatuation with music may have begun drumming in St. Isidore's folk group, but solidified itself as a lifelong pursuit of all things drums and rock n' roll. He also drummed for Walnut Creek-based Sunstorm and played numerous shows all over the Bay Area with The Johns. Perhaps it was an inevitability that John would discover the Grateful Dead, and practically define
what it is to be a Deadhead. He lived and breathed their music and ethos, with an encyclopedic knowledge of each of its members, and even their technological achievements vis-à-vis the "Wall of Sound." The Deadhead community itself had a reverence for him, sending notes, stickers, drawings and words of encouragement upon hearing of his illness. Tie dye was virtually synonymous with John, as much in his wardrobe as in the rainbow vibrancy of both his golf cart and urn.
This love of music led to meeting the other love of his life, Lisa. Together, they experienced hundreds of live concerts, retaining the physical ticket stub from each, which they would eventually display in a room dedicated entirely to music memorabilia. Alongside the tickets were a vast catalog of LPs, cassettes, figurines, album covers and autographed materials. Feeling that live shows on land weren't enough, they also took to the sea on four rock n' roll cruises: twice each of The '60s Flower Power Cruise and '70s Rock and Romance Cruise. Over the course of their 46-year marriage, John and Lisa witnessed many of the greatest bands rock produced, including The Who, Paul McCartney, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Peter Frampton and Grateful Dead. John and Lisa also performed together on several occasions, with Lisa singing and playing guitar while he provided the
rhythmic underpinning.
John's golden years took place in the retirement community of Del Webb in Manteca. There, he enjoyed community gatherings for wine tasting, music, Happy Hours and meals. John himself also enjoyed barbecuing, particularly famous for his prime rib and mashed potatoes. He loved regular trips in the Grateful Cart to the community lake with his dog Bailey, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He would often don a "Dogfather" T-shirt with a rendering of the breed, also a reference to his favorite film of all time, "The Godfather." John's neighbors quickly became friends, adding to those whom he'd already been friends with for over 50 years, a group known as The Lifers.
John is survived by his loving wife Lisa and companion Bailey, daughter Heather McKenzie (James) and grandsons Blake and Braydon of Manteca, son Joseph Schnaidt of Long Beach, CA, sister Susan Berry (Rett) and mother Katharine Schnaidt residing in Tennessee.
He was preceded in death by his youngest sister Roberta Daniello and father Robert. A Celebration of Life will be held in the Del Webb Woodbridge community clubhouse September 29th from
1-4 p.m. John's unflappable spirit was evident in his smile and stoicism even during the most difficult moments of the illness. He was "Grateful" for everything he had in life.
"What a long, strange trip it's been." - Grateful Dead
Manteca (Calif.) Bulletin
Saturday, August 10, 2024
