Barry L. Schrader
Barry L. Schrader, former community relations manager for Public Affairs, died June 30. He was 79.
He was born Dec. 27, 1940, to Vernon and Margaret Schrader. He graduated from Genoa-Kingston High School in 1958 and earned a journalism degree from Northern Illinois University. He married Kay Wirsing in 1963.
During his career he served as editor and publisher of several newspapers. During retirement he wrote a weekly column for the DeKalb County Life in Illinois.. He published two books of his favorite columns "Hybrid Corn & Purebred People." While in California he published a book of local trivia: "Will the Last Person Leaving Livermore Please Unscrew the Bulb in Fire Station One."
He and his family spent 37 years in California where he was editor of the Tri-Valley Herald and Valley Times. In 1980 hej oined Sandia California, later becoming manager of Public Affairs and Employee Communications. After 21 years with Sandia he joined Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as a group leader in community affairs and also served as the Lab's oral historian. He retired in 2006.
He was active in Livermore Rotary for 33 years. He also helped form the Livermore Heritage Guild, the Tri-Valley Exchange Club, Friends of the Vineyards, the DeKalb County Historical-Genealogical Society, and American Amateur Press Association where he pursued his hobby of antique letterpress printing.
He served on Chabot-Las Positas College District Board and was chosen grand marshal of the Livermore Rodeo Parade in 2004.
He is survived by his wife of 57 years Kay; two sons Todd Vernon of DeKalb and Darrin Wayne of Arlington, Virginia; and in-laws Ray and Carol Larson. He was preceded in death by his parents.
A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 7 at Sycamore United Methodist Church, 160 Johnson Ave. Sycamore, Illinois, and later at Oak Crest, Illinois. His ashes will be interred at Elmwood Cemetery in Sycamore and also near Yosemite National Park, his favorite vacation destination. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to help fund historical markers throughout the county.
