Robert Schneider

Robert W. Schneider, age 79, of Reading died suddenly on Wednesday, January 4.

Born in Malden on December 17, 1943 he was the son of the late William George and Jean Elizabeth (Gray) Schneider.

Bob was raised in Woburn, MA and attended Woburn public schools. He was a resident of Reading, MA since 1969 and was the owner and operator of Schneider Brothers Auto Body in Woburn for over 45 years. Bob was a founding member of New England Dragway in Epping, NH and served on the board of directors for many years. His passion was building and racing hot rods and took pride in racing down quarter mile drag strips across the country in his “Sizzler” dragster at speeds over 200 miles per hour. In addition, he was a long-time member of the Orientals Hot Rod Club of Reading, MA and was inducted into the New England Hot Rod Hall of Fame. Together with his late wife Diane, he enjoyed traveling to racetracks across the country in their RV, camping and exploring antique shops.

He was the beloved husband of the late Diane Therese (Cadogan) Schneider. He was the loving father of Therese Fontaine and her husband Robin of Bradenton, FL, Heidi Francis and her husband Robert of Merrimac, MA, Rodney Schneider and daughter-in-law Christine of Reading, and the late Christopher Schneider. He was the brother of Susan Sullivan and her partner David Seley of Woburn, Janet Rabbit and her husband William of Woburn, Barbara Wiseman and her husband Edward of Andover, Richard Schneider of Wilmington and the late James and Charles Schneider. He was the grandfather of Kerri, Ryan, Shawn, Karissa, Brandon, Nicole, Jeff, Amanda, Bryan, Emily and Matthew; and great-grandfather to twelve great-grandchildren. He is also survived by several dear nieces, nephews, cousins and many friends.

A Graveside Service will be held at Wood End Cemetery, Franklin St., Reading on Thursday, January 12 at 11am. Visitation for relatives and friends will be held at the McDonald Funeral Home, 19 Yale Ave., Wakefield on Wednesday, January 11 from 4-7pm.

Memorial donations may be made to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, Attn: Donation Processing, PO Box 5014 Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014.