Kurt Paul Schneider

Kurt Paul Schneider, 63, of Newville, Penn., and formerly of Newtown, died April 8 in the Carlisle (Penn.) Regional Medical Center. He was a member of Newtown Legislative Council from 1985 to 1989, on the Board of Trustees of the Booth Library, a founding member and president of Newtown Bridle Lanes Association, and was a member of Big Spring Watershed Association.

Mr Schneider is survived by his wife Pamela Stevens Schneider.

He was born June 13, 1941, in New York City, the son of the late Adolph and Florence Swift Schneider, and was a graduate of Sarasota High School where he lettered in circus as the ringmaster, and Manatee Junior College.

Mr Schneider served as a naval aviator, flying antisubmarine warfare from 1962 to 1966 and was a pilot for American Airlines from 1966 to 1996.

He was a competitive horse driver; he won his first horse in a card game in Guantanamo Bay Cuba Naval Station. His first major title was the New England Morgan Horse Championship in 1987; he won numerous first places in advanced combined driving at The Laurels CDE, Gladstone CDE, the 1999 AHSA Reserve National Champion Combine Driving Single Pony, and was a three-time winner of NBLA Hunter Pace. He was the author of many articles on driving including for The Whip and Driving West. He was also a member of the American Driving Society, Brandywine Carriage Association, and Carriage Association of America.

In addition to his wife he is survived by one son, Brandt Schneider and his wife, Kasey, of Southbury; two daughters, Susannah Closs and her husband, Tyler, of Carlisle, and Judith van Tongeren of Culemburg, The Netherlands; and one brother, Mark Schneider of Carbondale, Ill.

Memorial contributions may be made to “Friends of Arbor Lodge Foundation” c/o Egger Funeral Home, Inc, 15 Big Spring Avenue, Newville PA 17241.

The Newtown Bee        April 15, 2005