Deborah “Debbie” Esther (Fust) Schroeder, age 75, passed away peacefully at home on August 5, 2026, wrapped in her favorite blankets and surrounded by family and close friends.

Debbie spent most of her life in the Underhill and Hintz communities, although her mailing address said Gillett. She attended Christ Lutheran Church and graduated from Gillett High School after beginning her education at Sunny Lawn, a one-room schoolhouse.

Debbie began her career in the beauty industry after attending beautician school in Green Bay. In May 1970, she married Steven R. Schroeder. Together, they built a life centered around family, hard work, laughter, and many memorable adventures.

Debbie was the mother of daughters Monique Rosenthal and Janelle Schroeder and later became a mother to her stepson, Cullan Schroeder. While raising her family, she worked summers at the local canning factory. In the late 1980s, she returned to college to study accounting. After graduating, she worked at Kmart in Shawano until the store closed. She then joined the count room at the Menominee Casino, where she worked until her retirement.

In recent years, Debbie treasured time spent with her husband, daughters, and grandchildren. One especially happy memory was taking a four-wheeler ride with her daughter in June, an outing she thoroughly enjoyed.

Debbie was endlessly creative and skilled with her hands. She loved knitting, crocheting, and sewing, and she created beautiful lace tablecloths and afghans for members of her family. She even tried her hand at quilting. During the summer, she canned vegetables at home, despite often spending her days or nights working at the canning factory.

Debbie loved games and possessed a fierce competitive spirit. She once played Pac-Man for hours until she finally beat her stepson’s high score. She enjoyed Sheepshead, cribbage, darts, ping-pong, video games, and board games. Debbie would play nearly anything—and would often keep playing until she had won the majority of the games, even when that meant staying up until four o’clock in the morning.

She also loved swimming in the river that ran through her parents’ land. Each summer, the family gathered at “the park,” a cleared area along the river where they camped and celebrated summer holidays together.

Debbie was made for the open road and took great pleasure in driving long distances. Family trips carried them across the United States, from the East Coast to the West Coast and from the North to the South, all by car. She even crossed into Mexico once. Family adventures included visits to Coral Castle in Florida, the Grand Canyon, Circus Circus in Nevada, and many other destinations. One of her favorite places was the House on the Rock. Later in life, she continued traveling with her daughters. Although they eventually took over the driving, Debbie remained happiest riding along and being part of the journey.

An avid reader, Debbie made her way through Stephen King’s entire library and read nearly everything she could get her hands on. She also loved horror movies and faithfully watched her favorite soap operas.

Debbie is survived by her husband, Steven R. Schroeder; her daughters, Monique Rosenthal and Janelle Schroeder; her stepson, Cullan Schroeder; her sons-in-law, Robert Rosenthal and Barry Butrymowicz; and her grandchildren, Draven Schroeder, Lily Schroeder, Oni Schroeder, Gavin Rosenthal, and Rafe Rosenthal.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Annabelle (Huntington) and Harold Fust; her brothers, David and Elmer Fust; her sister-in-law, Sigi Fust; and her beloved dachshund, Arnie.

In accordance with Debbie’s wishes, no funeral or memorial service will be held. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial donations be made to Smile Train, www.smiletrain.org in Debbie’s memory.

Debbie will be remembered for her creativity, determination, competitive spirit, love of adventure, and devotion to her family. Her handmade gifts, stories, laughter, and the memories created during long drives and late-night games will remain with those who loved her.

She was a daughter, sister, cousin, aunt, wife, mom, grandma, friend, coworker, and to us in our house, she was the boss. She combed her hair, dressed nice, and always went to work. She took care of her parents, took care of her kids, and took care of my dad. My mom was friendly despite her resting “bitch face” and she helped out when called upon. So many trips and so much fun. We were lucky to have her here with us. So very lucky.

Sadly, her time here with us has ended, but Grandma and Grandpa were waiting for her, I’m sure of it, so she went home.

We will miss you Mom, but we’ll see you down the road.