POYNETTE - Joseph Earl Schumacher aka Joe, Jobo, Joe Joe the potty man, and Saferide Joe, was not born. His dad told him a crow s##t on a fencepost and the sun hatched him. He repeated this his whole life. Actually, he was born in Madison, Wisconsin on October 13, 1954. His parents were Earl Wilbur “Shorty” Schumacher and Dorothy Elizabeth Anne (nee Richards) (Schumacher) Aselson. They are both deceased. He had six siblings. Jeanne, Nancy and Peggy survive him. Tamara Joy, Patty (Peggy’s twin) and Andy pre-deceased him.

When he was about 10 years old his parents divorced and he and his siblings moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota with their mom.

When he was a teenager, he was taken away and put in a boy’s home in Bemidji, Minnesota for about two years. He liked Bemidji so much that a little bit later in life he moved back there.

Joe and high school didn’t work out, so after two weeks in the 10th grade he quit school. Soon after he went for his GED and passed with flying colors. After his GED he went to Minneapolis Community College. He graduated after two years with an Associated Arts degree.

He came down to Columbia County, Wisconsin in 1981. He got a job at Stokely, USA in Poynette, Wisconsin. He started in the bean pack and then made his way into the distribution center. It is here that he met the love of his life, Jane M. Hare. They moved in together in 1987, and were married August 15, 1992, at Dekorra Park near Poynette, Wisconsin. August 15th of this year would have been their 34th wedding anniversary.

Joe had many jobs in his life, but his favorite was working for Comair Airlines in Madison, Wisconsin. This job gave him great benefits on airline travel. Before the airline, Joe and his wife took many long road trips. He loved to drive. After he got flight benefits they went to many, many countries. In a good portion of them he would rent a car, and they would drive all over the countries.

Joe loved trying new things. He went sky diving near Madison. He kept trying to do it again, but they were understaffed. Joe and his wife went to South Africa where he did what was then the highest bungy jump in the world, Bloukrans Bridge. When he came up from that jump, he was so happy and excited. He looked like the cat that swallowed the canary. He tried all kinds of things besides those two things.

In 1992 and again in 1994, Joe ran for the U.S. Congress in what was then the 2nd district of Wisconsin. He was very progressive in his thoughts, and had specific ideas about the direction this country should go in.

Joe was very giving and nice to all people. He re-roofed an elderly neighbors house. The guy tried to pay him something and Joe said no. He would give you the shirt off his back if you said you liked it. Joe was a saferide driver for many years. That entails giving drunk people a ride home, so they didn’t have to drive drunk. At one point the Poynette cops told Joe the drunk driving offenses were way down thanks to him.

At the end of February 2022, Joe had a massive heart attack. As the ambulance got to the hospital, he also had a major stroke. August of that year he also had triple bypass surgery. The stroke weakened his right side and left him with a lot of trouble getting words out. Four years later, he was getting more words out all the time. Joe could even get out full sentences sometimes.

Wednesday, July 8, 2026, Joe was diagnosed with stage four cancer in four parts of his body. He was given weeks to months to live. Unfortunately, on Saturday morning, July 11, 2026, he passed away.

On August 15, 2026, there will be a celebration of life for Joe at the AMERICAN LEGION POST 271, 131 W. Washington St., Poynette, WI, from 1:00 pm until 4:00 pm.

Joe is being cremated, so his wife decided not to have a funeral. Joe would have loved people to party and celebrate the good times you remember about him.

Gunderson Lodi Funeral and Cremation Care are assisting the family.

For more information and online condolences please visit www.gundersonfh.com

Gunderson Lodi

Funeral & Cremation Care

157 S. Main St.

(608) 592-3201

Joseph E. Schumacher

October 13, 1954 - July 11, 2026

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