Gil Schroeder passed away on March 13, 2026 surrounded by family at 95 years young. He was born in Milwaukee Wisconsin in 1931. He attended Rufus King High School in Milwaukee, graduated from University of Wisconsin -Madison and attended the School of Engineering USC.He enlisted in the Navy and later transitioned to reserve duty.
He worked for AC Delco Sparks Electronics in London. While there, he met a beautiful Finnish au pair, fell in love and after a brief 2 week courtship, decided she was “the one”. Liisa and Gil married in 1961 and moved to sunny California.
Gil worked for both Lockheed and NASA Ames Research in Sunnyvale as an Aeronautical Engineer. He was the Spacecraft Chief for the Pioneer Jupiter Mission Project. Gil maintained Naval reserve duty and retired as Captain in 1986. Upon retirement from Lockheed, Gil pursued a second career in real estate as a residential appraiser.
Gil was passionate about jazz music, tennis and travel. He was ranked in the top 10 USTA Northern California singles in his 40’s. He even competed in doubles in the Houston Senior Games at 80 years young. Gil and Liisa attended all four of the Tennis Grand Slam tournaments during many of their adventures travels together.
“Papa Gil” is survived by his devoted children, Kirsten (Chris), Kim ( Luis) and Kai ( Iris), sisters-in-law Riitta and Raili, brother-in-law Vesa, nephews Gary, Greg, Pasi and Kimmo, nieces Nancy, Carol, Jeanne, Patricia and Pia, grandpups Merlot,Hobie and Teddy.
He is joined in heaven with his parents, lovely wife of 57 years, Liisa, siblings Walter, Evelyn, Elaine, brother-in-law Pekka and niece Jill.
Gil was compassionate, hard working, loyal and had a wonderful sense of humor. He was a dedicated and devoted husband and father. Gil was the primary and loving caretaker for 10 years for the love of his life, Liisa after she was diagnosed with Alzheimers. Gil was a resident of San Carlos for 63 years.
Please join family and friends for a Celebration of Life to honor Gil’s memory on Saturday, April 25, 2026 at 3 p.m. at Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church, 600 42nd Ave, San Mateo,CA.
Private Interment at Skylawn Cemetery March 25, 2026
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.