Catherine (Kay) Wybenga Schneider, beloved teacher, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend to many, went to be with her Lord and Savior on October 5, 2023. Born on April 10, 1924, in New Era Michigan, to John Wybenga and Agnes Folkema Wybenga, Kay lived her life shaped by a deep commitment to faith, service and learning.

A lifelong educator, Kay started teaching in a one room schoolhouse on Girdle Road near Rothbury, Michigan. She went on to pursue a two-year teaching degree at Calvin College, where she met her husband, Lee Schneider, and taught for a short time at Baxter Christian School before serving as a full-time parent to Bill and Sue and an active volunteer at Neland Avenue Christian Reformed Church. Kay believed deeply in the transformational power of Christian education. She completed her bachelor's degree at Calvin in 1968 while teaching 6th grade at Oakdale Christian School, and then moved to the Calvin Christian School system for the rest of her teaching career. There she was known for her particular care for those students who were struggling, her extraordinary musical gifts, and her willingness to go the second mile to make sure the work got done.

Following her retirement from teaching, Kay continued her passion for service, actively participating in Disaster Response Services through the CRWRC (now World Renew), Crossroads Bible Ministry, and Raybrook Volunteer Services. She also took up genealogy, researching her family roots in the Netherlands and the U.S. and producing detailed family histories. No matter where she resided, she used her gifts of hospitality, organization, advocacy, and profound curiosity to make the world around her a better place. Throughout this time, she also enjoyed traveling with Lee, wintering in Florida, spending quality time with her family, and eventually keeping connected with family and friends all over the world via Facebook.

Predeceased by Lee Schneider, her husband of 58 years; five of her eight siblings, John, Richard, and LeRoy Wybenga, Clara Veeneman, and Wilma Van Duinen; and her good friend Al Koning, Kay will be sorely missed by her son Bill (Bette) Schneider and daughter Sue (Ken) Schneider Hasseler; her grandchildren Nate and Paul Schneider, Jon (Mallory) Hasseler and Kaitlin (Peter) Levenstrong, her great-grandchildren Lael Schneider, Lewis and William Hasseler, and Caspian Levenstrong; her brother Ray Wybenga, sisters Ann Rood and Agnes Joan Wybenga, and many nephews and nieces who held her so dear; her special friends Kate, Taryn and Tate Freyling, and the many others whose lives she touched in her 99 years on this earth.

A Celebration of Life for Kay will be held on Saturday, October 21, 2023, at the Raybrook Manor Chapel (2121 Raybrook S.E., Grand Rapids) at 11 a.m. with an hour visitation prior to the service. Following the service, the family is inviting family and friends to a luncheon to be held in the Raybrook Friendship Room.

The family is asking in lieu of flowers, that donations be made in Kay's name to World Renew, 8970 Byron Commerce Dr SW, Byron Center, MI 49315-7400; https://worldrenew.net.