Obituary of Carl E. Schroeder

The Rev. Father Carl E. Schroeder, 78, of Mount Joy, PA, retired Rector of All Saints Anglican Church in Lancaster, died on June 1, 2012 at Hospice of Lancaster County in Mount Joy. The son of the Rev. Hugo W. Schroeder, Sr., and Florence May (Smith) Schroeder, he was born on June 1, 1934 in Narrowsburg, N. Y., but grew up in and regarded Baltimore, MD as his hometown. He was married to Jane Elizabeth Hymes of Tioga, PA, on August 3, 1974. Father Schroeder graduated with three diplomas from the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore and pursued a career as an organist and church musician. After serving two of the three then-largest Lutheran churches in Baltimore, he came to Lancaster in 1964 to be the organist and choirmaster of Trinity Lutheran Church. He subsequently served other local churches, notably the former Zion Lutheran Church, the former St. Stephen's Lutheran Church, and All Saints Anglican Church. During this time, he earned the status of Associate in Ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Other professional activities included teaching a large number of private students, writing book and music reviews for musical periodicals, playing many organ recitals, composing and publishing music, practicing as an organ consultant, teaching organ, piano, and theory at Elizabethtown College, founding and directing a choral society called "Musica Sacra", and serving five terms as Dean of the Lancaster Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. From 1956-1958 he served in the U. S. Army in France, reaching the rank of Specialist 5. When in 2002 Father Schroeder was forced by the onset of arthritis to retire as a performing musician and end his 53 year career as an organist, he was asked by All Saints Anglican Church to become its priest. Leaving the Lutheran Church, he joined the Anglican Catholic Church, studied at its Scott Seminary in Richmond, VA, was ordained deacon and then priest, and became the Rector of All Saints. In 2010 a further decline in his health prompted his retirement from All Saints. He was able to supervise St. Thomas of Canterbury Anglican Church in Philipsburg during a clerical vacancy, and preach there occasionally, for the year preceding his total retirement in October 2011. Father Schroeder is survived by his wife, Jane; a daughter, Stephanie Ann, wife of James Landis, of Mount Joy, PA; a son, Charles Edward, husband of Deborah Schroeder, of Appleton, WI; four grandchildren, James, Benjamin, Samuel, and Emilie Schroeder, all of Appleton, WI; two sisters, Clara Christine, wife of Dr. Charles Alston James, of Columbia, SC, and Karla Ann, wife of John Geldmacher, of Baltimore; two brothers, The Rev. Hugo W. Schroeder, Jr., husband of Evelyn Schroeder, of Liverpool, PA, and Dr. Martin Luther Schroeder, husband of Janet Schroeder, of Biglerville, PA. A viewing will be held on Monday evening, June 4, 2012 from 7-9:00 pm in the social hall of St. John Lutheran Church, 223 W. Orange Street, Lancaster. The funeral will be held in the church on Tuesday afternoon, June 5 at 1:00 pm with The Right Rev. William McClean, retired Bishop of the A.C.C. Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic States officiating. Interment will follow in Mount Rose Cemetery, York, PA. There will be no viewing or visitation on Tuesday. Please omit flowers. Memorial contributions may be made to All Saints Anglican Church, c/o Joseph Hipple, treasurer, 15 Ridgewood Dr., Lancaster, PA, 17603, Hospice of Lancaster County, 685 Good Drive, PO Box 4125, Lancaster, PA 17604, or to American Cancer Society, 314 Good Drive, Lancaster, PA 17603. To express a condolence to the family or for additional information, visit www.spencefuneralservices.com.