Obituary for Pauline B. (Gotto) Schueller
Pauline “Polly” Barbara (Gotto) Schueller passed away peacefully in Santa Ana, California on July 23, 2017 at the age of 99.
Polly is survived by her children Kathryn Muckenthaler of Garden Grove, CA, Mary Ann Pettit (Don) of Reno, NV, Craig Schueller (Kim) of Perris, CA and her brother Clifford Gotto of Long Beach, CA. She is also survived by 13 grandchildren, 17 great grandchildren, and 7 great-great grandchildren as well as many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by parents Math Gotto and Anna Windeshausen Gotto of Iowa; her husband Harold Schueller of California; and ten of her eleven brothers and sisters Anthony (Tony), Esther, Elnora (Onie), Catherine (Babe), Clara, Matthew, Leonard, Cletus, Gilbert (Gib), and Sylvester (Sy).
Polly was born on October 25, 1917, in Mapleton, Iowa, to Math and Anna (Windeshausen) Gotto. Her mother disputed Polly’s birth date on her birth certificate, stating the doctor who visited the farm was drunk and got the wrong date. Anna told everyone that Polly’s birth date was October 28, 1917. Because of this discrepancy, Polly celebrated her birthday from October 25th – 28th each year. Polly’s early childhood was a difficult depression era farm life at the Gotto farm in Castana, Iowa. One of the original tomboys, she would rather work in the fields with her dad than help with women’s chores.
She was an instigator for many Gotto farm stories and a leader of her younger siblings for many hair-raising events. She reached the 8th grade level in education in Castana. After leaving home, she worked in Sioux City, IA, Denver, CO, and eventually for the defense industry in Riverside, CA. In 1945, she and her sister, Esther, were involved in an automobile accident in Riverside, CA, that took Esther’s life and sent Polly to the hospital with serious injuries that would affect her the rest of her life.
Polly married Harold Schueller December 23, 1945, in Yuma, Arizona. During their 20 years of marriage, they lived in Iowa, Colorado, and finally settled down in California.
Polly worked in the food service industry most of her life. One notable event was when she served sitting President Ike Eisenhower at Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver, CO and received a $100 tip from him. As the Executive Chef at North American Aviation in Downey, CA, she prepared meals for company executives, as well as local and nationwide politicians. She also fed every astronaut active in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo Space Programs that visited the Downey facility.
During her years at North American she became active in the UAW Union, first as a Union Steward, and then as the Chairman of the fledgling Cafeteria Unit. She held that post until her retirement. She sat on the Executive Board of UAW Local 887 and attended numerous UAW National Conventions. She was instrumental in UAW negotiations with Canteen, and helped lead the way to a retirement benefit for Canteen workers.
Polly retired from Canteen, and lived a long and productive life after retirement. She was able to spend many years traveling and visiting her extensive family; always ready to cook a great meal, have a drink, and play some cards. Polly was an active traveler in her younger days and always on the go in her retirement. She visited almost every state in the United States, and was always driving to and from Iowa on short notice. One memorable trip was in 1980 when she and her niece Pam Gotto traveled to Europe and visited London, England; Amsterdam, Netherlands; many cities in Germany; Salzburg, Austria. It was the trip of a lifetime.
Proving it’s never too late to realize your dream; at 80 she bought a home in Charter Oak, Iowa. She spent her summers in Iowa with family vacationing to visit her, and winters in California with her children. After three years, she decided to sell this home and return to California, where family surrounded her.
Polly had many passions; knitting and playing cards were two of her loves. She knitted personalized Christmas stockings for family and friends. Her presence will be felt by all each Christmas when her stockings are hung with love. She played cards until her passing, but she was especially gifted at her favorite game Euchre. The Euchre games at family gatherings were competitive and she was the preferred partner by all. When she was ready to trump your ace or take your trick she would yell one of her favorite sayings: “Now come to the dance!”; “Even a pig has a heart!”; or “How do you like it?”. At all family gatherings and parties she was the center of attention, always telling stories and surrounded by children. She was the Gotto Family Matriarch and was loved and cherished by all.
Services and Memorials:
Private services were held in California on Sunday August 27, 2017. A chapel service was held from 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM followed by a celebration of her life from 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM. These were held at Fairhaven Memorial Park Mortuary, 1702 Fairhaven Avenue, Santa Ana, CA 92705.
In Iowa, a Memorial Mass is scheduled for Saturday October 28, 2017, at 10:00 a.m., at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 703 Heisler St, Mapleton, IA 51034. Immediately following the mass, committal services will be held at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery. Polly was baptized in this church on October 31, 1917.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Alzheimer's Foundation of America
322 Eighth Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10001 Web: https://alzfdn.org/
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Polly is survived by her children Kathryn Muckenthaler of Garden Grove, CA, Mary Ann Pettit (Don) of Reno, NV, Craig Schueller (Kim) of Perris, CA and her brother Clifford Gotto of Long Beach, CA. She is also survived by 13 grandchildren, 17 great grandchildren, and 7 great-great grandchildren as well as many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by parents Math Gotto and Anna Windeshausen Gotto of Iowa; her husband Harold Schueller of California; and ten of her eleven brothers and sisters Anthony (Tony), Esther, Elnora (Onie), Catherine (Babe), Clara, Matthew, Leonard, Cletus, Gilbert (Gib), and Sylvester (Sy).
Polly was born on October 25, 1917, in Mapleton, Iowa, to Math and Anna (Windeshausen) Gotto. Her mother disputed Polly’s birth date on her birth certificate, stating the doctor who visited the farm was drunk and got the wrong date. Anna told everyone that Polly’s birth date was October 28, 1917. Because of this discrepancy, Polly celebrated her birthday from October 25th – 28th each year. Polly’s early childhood was a difficult depression era farm life at the Gotto farm in Castana, Iowa. One of the original tomboys, she would rather work in the fields with her dad than help with women’s chores.
She was an instigator for many Gotto farm stories and a leader of her younger siblings for many hair-raising events. She reached the 8th grade level in education in Castana. After leaving home, she worked in Sioux City, IA, Denver, CO, and eventually for the defense industry in Riverside, CA. In 1945, she and her sister, Esther, were involved in an automobile accident in Riverside, CA, that took Esther’s life and sent Polly to the hospital with serious injuries that would affect her the rest of her life.
Polly married Harold Schueller December 23, 1945, in Yuma, Arizona. During their 20 years of marriage, they lived in Iowa, Colorado, and finally settled down in California.
Polly worked in the food service industry most of her life. One notable event was when she served sitting President Ike Eisenhower at Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver, CO and received a $100 tip from him. As the Executive Chef at North American Aviation in Downey, CA, she prepared meals for company executives, as well as local and nationwide politicians. She also fed every astronaut active in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo Space Programs that visited the Downey facility.
During her years at North American she became active in the UAW Union, first as a Union Steward, and then as the Chairman of the fledgling Cafeteria Unit. She held that post until her retirement. She sat on the Executive Board of UAW Local 887 and attended numerous UAW National Conventions. She was instrumental in UAW negotiations with Canteen, and helped lead the way to a retirement benefit for Canteen workers.
Polly retired from Canteen, and lived a long and productive life after retirement. She was able to spend many years traveling and visiting her extensive family; always ready to cook a great meal, have a drink, and play some cards. Polly was an active traveler in her younger days and always on the go in her retirement. She visited almost every state in the United States, and was always driving to and from Iowa on short notice. One memorable trip was in 1980 when she and her niece Pam Gotto traveled to Europe and visited London, England; Amsterdam, Netherlands; many cities in Germany; Salzburg, Austria. It was the trip of a lifetime.
Proving it’s never too late to realize your dream; at 80 she bought a home in Charter Oak, Iowa. She spent her summers in Iowa with family vacationing to visit her, and winters in California with her children. After three years, she decided to sell this home and return to California, where family surrounded her.
Polly had many passions; knitting and playing cards were two of her loves. She knitted personalized Christmas stockings for family and friends. Her presence will be felt by all each Christmas when her stockings are hung with love. She played cards until her passing, but she was especially gifted at her favorite game Euchre. The Euchre games at family gatherings were competitive and she was the preferred partner by all. When she was ready to trump your ace or take your trick she would yell one of her favorite sayings: “Now come to the dance!”; “Even a pig has a heart!”; or “How do you like it?”. At all family gatherings and parties she was the center of attention, always telling stories and surrounded by children. She was the Gotto Family Matriarch and was loved and cherished by all.
Services and Memorials:
Private services were held in California on Sunday August 27, 2017. A chapel service was held from 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM followed by a celebration of her life from 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM. These were held at Fairhaven Memorial Park Mortuary, 1702 Fairhaven Avenue, Santa Ana, CA 92705.
In Iowa, a Memorial Mass is scheduled for Saturday October 28, 2017, at 10:00 a.m., at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 703 Heisler St, Mapleton, IA 51034. Immediately following the mass, committal services will be held at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery. Polly was baptized in this church on October 31, 1917.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Alzheimer's Foundation of America
322 Eighth Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10001 Web: https://alzfdn.org/
Previous Events
Memorial Service
Saturday
28
Oct
10:00 AM
St. Mary's Catholic Church Mapleton
201 N 8th Street
Mapleton, IA 51034
Cemetery Details
Location
St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery
Mapleton, IA 51034
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