April 15, 2022 (a note from John)
As I sit to write this, I just can’t believe the words I have to say. Our daughter Lanea (Lanae), our first born child, is celebrating Easter Sunday in person with our Risen Saviour. Lanea died this past Wednesday (April 13) morning in a back country skiing accident. She was with a group of experienced back country skiers, deep in the Rocky Mountains in BC when the snow gave way near the peak of a summit that they were on and she fell. She and her husband Logan are experienced climbers and back country skiers. Logan wasn’t able to get the time of work on short notice and thus he was not there when this happened. As we hear more of what happened two things have come clear.
First, it was an accident. Lanea at the moment was in the lead breaking trail for the group. It is very evident that whomever was first in line would have fell, as there was no indication of the danger. As our daughter Alicia said when we broke the news to her, “no, not Lanae, it can’t be Lanae, she is too careful”. Logan and Lanae did risky things, but always calculated and thought through. So whomever was first would have died.
Second, Lanae was the only believer in the group, and knowing our daughter she would have already been sharing her faith with the other members.
God reminded me of two things the morning after Lanae went home.
- God doesn’t measure effectiveness in length of time. Jesus ministered for three years. Lanae lived her life 27.5 years to the the fullest for God, and her life made an impact for the Gospel.
- Every parent’s desire is that their children finish well. Lanae finished well. She ran the race before her with her gifts, abilities, flaws and scars, and she has finished well.
We as family – Logan (her husband), Leanne and I, Alicia and Garrett, Daniel all grieve deeply and rejoice greatly.
Please pray especially for our son in law Logan. They were married for 5 1/2 years, and he is grieving deeply and rejoicing greatly. He was gone doing ministry when the police came to our door Wed evening to break the news. So we were the ones to share with him Lanae’s stepping into eternity. A few hours after we told him the news he told us – “I have seen God save Lanea numerous times, she was able to pull out of dangerous situations. If God had wanted to save her this time, He would have. God is good, and I need to trust Him with His plan.”
We hold to the hope of the resurrection – we do not grieve without hope – for we have a living Saviour in whose presence our daughter is at this moment.
As a child, she always wanted to run ahead. Well, she just ran ahead and got home before we did.
Daniel is presently studying at Capernwray in England, and will be coming home this week for 10 days or so.
At present, due to delays for the long weekend and the need for an autopsy (automatic gov’t protocol in these situations) the funeral most likely won’t be till April 25 or later. Pray for patience and peace.
With love
John for my family
Leanne, Logan, Alicia, Garrett (Liam & baby #2 on the way) & Daniel
April 16, 2022 (a note from Leanne)
I am here still, although my Sweetie is gone.
Serving, loving, worshiping, crying, praising, working, waiting, breathing; I am crushed and brokenhearted… but not without hope.
Hope that sees it’s object with physical eyes, touches, tastes, smells, hears, is not true hope. For Hope is not focused on what one has, but rather on the thing which it does not have. I cannot see right now, into the future
glory that we will live in, but I know that that Glory far outweighs the pain and the sadness and the loss that I am experiencing right now. IT WILL BE WORTH IT!
I put my HOPE and my EXPECTATION into what I know is mine, even though, right now it is not in my hand, not in my scope of vision, and not familiar to my senses of touch and smell. I am there, where He–my Jesus is– and one day my body will catch up, and my faith, my hope, by expectation will be SIGHT…and will be realized in the most truest of ways.
“For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we eagerly await it.” Romans 8:24,25
Leanne
Obituary
Schroeder, Lanae “Lanea” Katherine (nee Paetkau)
October 2, 1994 – April 13, 2022
It is with great sadness we mourn the passing of Lanea Schroeder to be with her Saviour Jesus Christ on Wednesday, April 13, 2022 as a result of a mountaineering accident on Mont des Poilus, a peak in the Rocky Mountain range, at the age of 27.
Lanea was born in Bow Island, Alberta and spent most of her growing up years living in Sumy, Ukraine as a missionary kid. Living overseas gave her a different view on life and built into her a willingness to stretch herself and to learn and grow. She spent a year at Bodenseehof Bible School in Germany in 2013-2014, and then returned to Canada, served at Brightwood Ranch Camp for the summer and attended a year at Millar College of the Bible in Salmon Arm BC (2014-2015).
During that year at school she met her husband to be, Logan Schroeder. While he continued at school she lived and worked in the area, serving as a volunteer fire fighter in the Blind Bay detachment, serving as a volunteer at her local church, and taking on new challenges and activities.
Lanea and Logan were married on November 5, 2016, beginning a journey together of wonder, challenge, growth and adventure. God gave them the opportunity to spend 6 months overseas in 2018, doing ministry in 6 different countries, growing the desire to someday be overseas long term.
These past few years, Lanea and Logan have been living in Cochrane, AB, working, serving in the local church, camp ministries and in various capacities with volunteer organizations. They love the outdoors, and sought any opportunity they could to spend time in God’s backyard (the Rocky Mountains) hiking, climbing, and skiing with friends and acquaintances. Lanea loved the outdoors, and found it a natural place to share the love of Christ and to build into other’s lives. She has been training and growing her skills in multiple areas so that she could use them for the sake of the Gospel. She loved to draw and paint that which she saw and to share that with others.
There are three things that would describe Lanea
She was adventurous. She relished a new opportunity, a new challenge, and the possibility of growing. She strove to do her best at whatever she put her mind to. She was not one to shy away from taking a risk, but she was a calculated risk taker. Back country skiing had become a favourite winter sport for the two of them, both for the challenge and the opportunity. Summers were spent hiking and climbing deep in the mountains. Many times when they came home they would show pictures – and inevitably there was snow because they had been up that high. She and Logan were “adventure buddies”, each bringing their skills and abilities together in order to create memories and do ministry.
She loved Jesus. Her Lord and Saviour was at the forefront in all of her relationships and conversations. She is one who is confident in her faith, and ready and willing to share when God opens a door. She loved spending time with jr higher’s and teens, helping them to grow as individuals and to learn more about God and grow closer to Him. Her heart was soft towards the broken and abused, and she loved serving those who were impacted by this trauma. She volunteered at a local women’s ministry in Calgary, helping women learn how to be physically healthy, taking them on hiking trips into the mountains to share the love of Christ and helping them to be spiritually healthy. Growing up in Ukraine gave her a heart to serve, as God gave her opportunities to grow and learn and to be involved in so many different ways.
She was restless for Heaven. Lanea loved being in nature, as it was the closest she could get to heaven here on earth. We live in a world filled with pain and evil, and this wore at her heart. She had written many times in her journals, asking God “how long until You take us home”. As a missionary kid, you don’t fit exactly into any culture – not the culture of your passport nor the culture that you live and serve in. So home is always a bit of a question, and as she grew in her faith she realized that until Heaven, she would never really be home. She wanted God to use her time here on earth for Him, but she was ready to go whenever He gave the word.
Lanea wasn’t perfect. She struggled in many areas and had many difficult times over her years. It was her faith in God that kept her moving forward through those times, to work at rebuilding that which had been broken and to look forward to what God might do. From a human perspective, she died much too young and there was so much before her. From an eternal perspective, her life was in God’s hands and He was faithful to give her the strength and the time to do what she had been called to do. God doesn’t measure effectiveness in years, and thus we can rest knowing that His timing is perfect and His will is good. We rest knowing that she is in the hands of her loving Saviour, and that she is home.
“I don’t know what will happen tomorrow….but God is good and He provides.”
“Exodus 15: The Lord is my strength and my song. So I will not be afraid”
Lanea’s journal entry April 8, 2022
Lanea is survived by her husband, Logan Schroeder; parents, John and Leanne Paetkau; siblings, Alicia (Garrett) Jones, Daniel Paetkau; parents-in-law, Ray and Angela Schroeder; a grandparent (Erna Heinrichs), numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews; and extended family and friends.
A Funeral Service will be held for Lanea at at Cochrane Alliance Church (902 Glenbow Dr, Cochrane, AB T4C 1J2) on Wednesday, April 27 at 11:30 am MST. Public viewing of the casket will be from 10:00 – 11:00 am. For those unable to attend in person, the family invites you to join the livestream using the following link https://tv.cochranealliance.com/en/c/celebration-of-life-for-lanea-schroeder.4496
If desired, Memorial Donations may be made to: Crowsnest Bible Camp https://www.crowcamp.ca/
Arrangements entrusted to Bridget Halfyard, Funeral Director
Cochrane Country Funeral Home – cochrane@piersons.ca – 403-932-1039
A few weeks after Lanea’s homegoing we were interviewed by the local news station. Here is the video and article.
https://globalnews.ca/news/8841657/cochrane-woman-dies-mountain-backcountry-parents/
