|
By Aimee Staten Managing Editor, Eastern Arizona Courier
Rick Schneider, the beloved publisher of the Eastern Arizona Courier in Safford, Arizona and The Copper Era in Greenlee County, passed away April 18, 2012, after a valiant seven-month battle against multiple myeloma cancer.
Schneider was 62, but until just a few months before his passing, he regularly beat opponents half his age at tennis and racket ball. He was a strong man who rarely, if ever, was ill, but his struggle against cancer was more than even his physical strength could overcome.
Schneider moved his wife, Sue, and their son, Marlon, to Safford in 2000 to take the publisher position at the Courier and The Copper Era. He was a great supporter of community journalism and regularly reminded his employees about their roles as advocates, watchdogs and promoters of the Gila Valley.
An avid journalist, Schneider also had a particular talent for mentoring and molding younger journalists. Operations Manager/Ad Director Monica Watson and Managing Editor Aimee Staten of the Courier are two who benefitted from 12 years of his instruction. He also recognized the potential of a young, part-time typesetter in Sidney, Mont., and trained her in the craft until he left in 2000 to move to Safford.
“Rick was my mentor, my boss and, most of all, my friend. He hired me as a part-time typesetter in Sidney and molded me into a publisher. I only hope through the many years of watching Rick do his job as a successful but caring boss, I can follow in his footsteps," said Libby Berndt, publisher of the Sidney Herald in Montana. "Rick guided me and, at the same time, gave me the opportunity to make decisions. I realize now how important that is.”
He firmly believed in being involved in and giving to his community. He was a member of the Safford Downtown Association, the Chamber of Commerce Tourism committee and assisted in coaching youth basketball and softball. He was also a Scoutmaster and served on boards of directors for the Richland County Adult Literacy Program, the Sidney Chamber of Commerce and the Montana Press Association. He was actively involved in economic development committees and corporations in every community in which he lived. He was a past member of the Jaycees, the Lions Club, Kiwanis, the Elks and the Moose organizations.
“Rick was as hard working and dedicated a newspaper publisher as I’ve worked with,” said John Mathew, CEO of Wick Communications. “He gave everything he had to the job of serving his community. The newspapers he published and the communities he served were better as a result of Rick’s influence.”
Perhaps his greatest role, however, was that of a husband to his wife and father to his children.
He spoke regularly and with great affection about his children, Tonya, Tara and Marlon, and his wife, Sue, for whom he was primary caregiver during the last few years of her life.
“Rick was an upbeat person who made everyone happy to be in the same room with him,” said Tom Lee, group manager at Wick Communications Company. “He was a tireless worker both for his family and at his job. His devotion to caring for his late wife, Sue, was a model for the rest of us, including his family, who took care of Rick in his final months.”
Rick was born in Strasburg, N.D., in Jan. 21, 1950, and raised on a farm. Many of his stories, for which he was famous, were based on the life lessons and his experiences on the family farm. He graduated from high school in 1968 and from the University of North Dakota in 1971 with a degree in journalism. He participated in the Marine Corps Platoon Leaders course while attending the university.
Rick's first job in newspaper was as the editor of the Cavalier County Republican in Langdon, N.D. His second job, from 1972 to 1975, was as a sales representative and special sections editor for the Bismarck Tribune in Bismarck, N.D.
It was while he was in Bismarck that he met his future wife, Sue, who was serving as a house parent at Charles Hall Youth Services, a home for disadvantaged Indian children. The two of them served as house parents and tutors for four years and were married in 1973.
Rick and Sue were foster parents for more than 20 children.
Rick was the ad director and only sales representative for BHG Inc. in Garrison, N.D., from 1975 to 1979. From 1979 to 1982, he was the ad director and then promoted to publisher of the twice-weekly Western News in Libby, Mont. He then returned to BHG Inc. for two years. From 1984 to 1986, he was the marketing director/ad director for the Williston Daily Herald, and then he took the longest post of his career in Montana. For 14 years, Rick was the editor and publisher of the Sidney Herald. Rick was publisher at the Eastern Arizona Courier and The Copper Era until his death.
He was the winner of numerous editorial, photography and general excellence and advertising awards in Wick Communications, North Dakota, Arizona and Montana press association better newspaper contests.
Rick was well loved by his employees, and he leaves behind Watson and Staten at the Courier to carry on with what he so ably taught them.
"I was hardheaded and quick to lose my temper when I met Rick. He taught me that patience, kindness and standing for what you believe in will take you far," said Watson. "He was more than a supervisor or boss, he was one of my closest friends and mentor. I am heartbroken but thankful I had someone like Rick to teach me for the last 11 years."
Rick was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Sue, who passed away in November 2010.
