Lawrence & Beverly Schallert

Lawrence Benedict Schallert
March 4, 1928 – April 9, 2015

Born in Montrose, Missouri on March 4, 1928, Larry was the fifth of seven children in a farming family. His parents, Gottlieb and Agnes, were both the children of German immigrants.  They owned a 50+ acre farm that required the active contribution of every family member.  Larry attended St. John’s Catholic Seminary in Kansas City, MO from 1943 to 1946 and enlisted in the United States army after graduation.  He served in the army from 1946 through 1948 as a member of the 116th MP Company on the occupied island of Okinawa.  
Larry earned his Bachelor of Science from Finlay Engineering College in Kansas City and started work at the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) shortly before marrying Beverly June Carter in October of 1951. He worked for the Atomic Energy Commission for 29 years in a variety of quality control positions in Kansas City, MO, St. Petersburg, FL and Albuquerque, NM.  While at AEC, he was recognized with regional responsibility and several national awards for process and quality improvements.
He retired from the AEC in 1980 to start a second career in home building.  He earned his contractor’s license and built custom homes until full retirement in his late sixties.
Larry always had a “project” that kept him busy during off hours.  He spent his free time farming 20 acres in Lenexa, KS while working at the Kansas City AEC.  When he transferred to Florida, his interests shifted to boating and baseball.  He refurbished two inboard cabin cruisers that his family used for vacationing throughout the Bay area and he assembled several “beach buggies” that made his teenage children the envy of every adolescent in Pinellas County.  
Larry started coaching his sons’ baseball teams at the beginning levels of little league and moved up through the ranks with his boys. He was a calm, positive coach who emphasized strategy that would help team members operate like a unit and enhance the enjoyment of watching as well as playing the game.  
When Larry and his family moved to Albuquerque, his “hobby” shifted to the management of rental properties and home building which eventually became a second career.
Larry was a natural instructor/coach.  Whether it was his engineering training or specialization in quality control that enabled the talent, he was consistently able to make large projects seem doable for his children, neighbors and friends.  He taught all of his children to drive and eventually gave most of them the know-how to build and/or fix almost anything. Just as importantly, he taught his grandsons how to be a gentleman, not by correcting missteps or lecturing, but through his understated, modest actions.  
Larry died of natural causes at 87 on Wednesday, April 8 surrounded by family at his home in Albuquerque. This kind, chivalrous man will be buried in the Appleton City Cemetery beside his wife Beverly in the Carter family plot.  

 
Beverly June Schallert
July 11, 1933 – April 12, 2015

Born in Monegaw Springs, Missouri on July 11, 1933, Beverly was the first of four children born to Luther and Mary Carter. She was raised in Appleton City, MO and was a cheerleader at Appleton City High School.  She married Lawrence B. Schallert in October, 1951 and the two made their homes in Overland Park, MO, Lenexa, KS, Madeira Beach, FL, and Albuquerque, NM.  
Beverly embraced the culture and lifestyle of each new locale by exploring local artists and writers, carting her kids to hidden attractions and cooking the area’s cuisine. Her moves to the south and then southwest increased the bulk of her cookbook and the diversity of artwork in her eclectic house.  
While living in Florida, Beverly earned her Associate Degree at St. Petersburg Junior College with high honors. But those close to her knew she had PhD knowledge in a wide range of subjects as diverse as the Anasazi culture, ornithology and politics.  She was a voracious reader, art enthusiast and historian.  She read hundreds of memoirs and historical novels, but took particular pleasure in tracing her family history.
Beverly was a homemaker for most of her adult life, but she also owned a southwestern jewelry business and volunteered extensively.  Her volunteer work included the presidency of the Manzano High School Band Boosters and co-chairing of the New Mexico Pageant of Bands.  Beverly was also very involved in the Democratic National Committee, supporting a variety of candidates on the local, state and national stages.  
Beverly felt passionately about the environment and the arts. She inspired that same enthusiasm in her family with trips to state and national parks, subscriptions to nature magazines and daily appreciation for her favorite birds and flowers. She was equally enthusiastic about theatre and music, spending countless hours attending the recitals, plays and concerts of her children and grandchildren.  
Motherhood was important to Beverly…and she was good at it. She inspired confidence in her children and grandchildren; helping each and every one of them become their own person while “gently” nudging them toward her liberal views. She believed in the natural goodness of all people and a tolerance for diversity of all kinds.  Her children and their friends always viewed Beverly as the “cool Mom” and her grandchildren admired and marveled at her contemporary thinking.    
Beverly died at 81.  She was at her home, surrounded by her children and wrapped in the warmth of grandchildren who loved her dearly. Her wicked sense of humor, keen intelligence and interest in the world will be sorely missed, but her influence lives on in every member of her immediate and extended family. She will be buried in the Appleton City Cemetery beside her husband, Larry, in the Carter family plot.