Coray Schroeder

Coray Edith Schroeder Born July 17, 1931 in St. Boniface Hospital, Winnipeg, Manitoba Coay's lifetime passion for the Arts began when her older sister Dru Morris paid for tap-dance lessons when Coray was four. She later took Saturday morning art lessons with Franz Johnson. She took vocal lessons for six years with her friend June Crawford. They were inseparable at that time and sang all over Winnipeg at weddings, senior's homes and hospitals. She sang duets with June and with her brother Bob on the Winnipeg radio programs; Sunday School of the Air and The Eaton's Santa Clause Saturday Morning Show. She was chosen to lead a mass children's choir for the Canadian Girls in Training (CGIT) 25th Anniversary in Winnipeg. She attended Glenlawn College and later United College in Winnipeg, then took her Teacher Training at Manitoba Normal School. Coray taught for two years in small rural, one-room, all-grade schools in Manitoba. Then she spent four years teaching at a grade 1 to 12 school on the Military Base at Fort Churchill on Hudson's Bay where she met her husband-to-be, Glen Schroeder. They were married in Winnipeg in 1958. Their first child, Kurt was born in 1959 in Fort Churchill. Glen was transferred to Upland Airport and they moved to Ottawa. Shift work as a Meteorologist 7 days a week didn't mesh with family life so Glen decided to become a teacher. He took teacher's education courses over the summer in London, Ontario and took a job teaching in the fall at Bracebridge High School. Kim, Regan and Mark were born in Bracebridge over the next few years. When Mark was three, Coray went back to teaching, sharing a grade 7 class with Patricia Whitfield at Bracebridge Public School for a year. The whole family moved to Antigua in 1966 where Glen taught for a Canadian International Development Agency school. After a year, Coray got a job teaching at the Antiguan Girls High School. The trip was a great experience for the whole family and at the end of two years they moved back to Bracebridge. A few years later Glen accepted a job in Australia on an International Teaching Fellowship to teach Math. After a year in Australia, Coray wanted to get back into teaching, but the bureaucracy in Melbourne was too hard to penetrate. She decided to try for a job at a Private Catholic School, stopping to buy and put-on stockings on the way. The Mother Superior asked her if she could teach Art and Music and Asian History and when Coray said yes the Mother Superior said, "Oh, you were sent from heaven. Our last teacher just had a mental breakdown." Coray had to study every night to stay a step ahead of her students. After two and half wonderful years the family moved back to Bracebridge and then out to the Lake. Coray found a job teaching Music at BMLSS, taking over classes for Elsi Leskew, who was on sabbatical. She also taught part time at BPS as an itinerant vocal teacher. The next year she got a full-time job teaching grade 7 and 8 at BPS, where she remained until retirement in July 1989. Coray believed in community service and was involved with many groups over the years, giving her time to Meals on Wheels and the Manna Food Bank. She was a part of the BPS Breakfast Program, on the Board of Directors of the YWCA and served six years with the Culture and Recreation Department. She was dedicated to the Bracebridge Arts Council and forged a dream with others that became the Renee Caisse Theatre. She was a member of the United Church, sang in their choir and was involved in the early years of the CGIT . She was a founding member of the original Cellar Singers. She also played prominent roles in several of the Rotary plays and other local productions. With Raymie Lee as producer she directed Down Memory Lane for Remembrance Day, which meant a lot to her because her brother Rolland had been a POW in Germany. Her dream came true in 2010 when she and Cheryl Tough were finally able to mount a production of Down Memory Lane at the Renee Caisse Theatre. In 1993 Coray was honoured with the Rotary Club's Citizen of the Year award. She also received the YWCA Woman of the Year award for Exceptional Achievement in 2003.

Visitation Details

Tuesday, June 10th, 2014 2:00pm - 4:00pm, Reynolds Funeral Home "Turner Chapel"

Tuesday, June 10th, 2014 6:00pm - 8:00pm, Reynolds Funeral Home "Turner Chapel"

Service Information

Wednesday, June 11th, 2014 2:00pm, Bracebridge United Church

Interment Details

Innisvale Crematorium