Rhea Schroeder

Rhea Lenore Fullmer Schroeder, 98, of Rexburg, Idaho, passed away on October 7, 2026, at the home of her son Scott in American Fork, Utah, surrounded by family.

Rhea was born June 1, 1928, in Sugar City, Idaho, the fourth of five children of Fremont and Golda Richman Fullmer. She grew up in Salem in a home her father built across the street from the church. She graduated from Sugar-Salem High School in 1946, where she was a cheerleader and one of four honor students to speak at graduation. She attended Ricks College, earning an associate degree in 1948 and a Bachelor of Science in business in 1950 as a member of the school's first four-year graduating class.

Rhea loved to dance. She was called as a ward dance director while still in high school and went on to serve as stake and district dance director. She and her brother Garin were well known at the ballrooms of the upper valley for their jitterbug, and she was remembered for always wearing the highest heels she could find.

She met Neil Schroeder of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, while he was a student at Ricks College. They were married May 5, 1955, in the Idaho Falls Temple, and shared fifty-nine years together until his death on June 20, 2014.

Rhea worked for about 45 years as a legal secretary and paralegal, nearly 40 of them in the Rexburg law office of W. Lloyd Adams and Mary Smith, and later with Holden, Kidwell, Hahn & Crapo in Idaho Falls.

She was a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served as Relief Society president, Primary teacher, dance director, ward historian, and for many years in family history and name extraction. In the community she served as president of the Rexburg JC-Ettes and of the Madison County Republican Women, as county chairman and state director for the Idaho Heart Association, and was a charter member of the Madison County Legal Secretaries.

She was gifted with her hands. She made ceramic Nativity sets for each of her children's families, quilts and blankets for her grandchildren, and hand-painted carousel horses. She loved hunting opals at Spencer, winters and Thanksgivings at Island Park, and the dogs and cats that were always at her feet. When macular degeneration took most of her sight, she kept writing her life history anyway. She also wrote 3 books for her family: Little Grandma and Lena, Little Grandma at Fuller’s Beach, and Little Grandma survives the Teton Dam Flood. These books were given to her family for Christmas the last few years. However, with the last one, Little Grandma survives the Teton Dam Flood, she didn’t want to wait until this coming Christmas, she wanted it delivered as soon as she finished it. I think there was some foresight and inspiration involved there. In her history she wrote that life wouldn't be worth much without her family.

Rhea is survived by her children, Scott (Cynthia) Schroeder of American Fork, Utah; Randy (Samantha) Schroeder of Heber, Utah; Gary (Lenece) Schroeder of Rigby, Idaho; and Karin (David) Guzzetti of Meridian, Idaho; 17 grandchildren; 46 great-grandchildren; and her sister, Valene Withers.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Neil; her daughter, Schelli Ann; her brothers, Garin and Bernel Fullmer; her sister, Phyllis Barber; and her great-granddaughter, Saylor.

A viewing will be held Friday, October 16, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at Flamm Funeral Home in Rexburg, and again Saturday, October 17, from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. at the Park Street Chapel, 700 Park Street, Rexburg. Funeral services will follow at the chapel at 10:00 a.m. Interment will be in the Sugar City Cemetery, followed by a luncheon at the church. All who knew her are warmly invited to attend.

The family wishes to thank Inspiration Home Health and Hospice for their amazing compassion and caring, even though their time with us was brief.