MACC Foundation receives substantial gift

Late this year, the Moberly Area Community College Foundation received the final installment of a large gift from the William Schrader Estate, which totaled over $80,000. The money has been invested in the Foundation’s General Fund and will be used in future Foundation fundraising endeavors.
William “Bill” Schrader was born in Moberly on July 3, 1923. He attended Moberly Schools and graduated from Moberly High School in 1940. After graduation, Bill attended Moberly Junior College and was a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.
Bill was drafted into United States Army Air Force in 1943. After basic training and because of his outstanding technical scores, Bill was sent to Baylor University to study engineering. He was then sent to Europe as a radar/radio operator in a bomber squadron. He flew countless bombing missions over enemy territory and was awarded two bronze stars along with various ribbons, bars and medals.
After an honorable discharge from the Army Air Force in 1946, Bill returned to the states. He graduated from the University of Missouri in 1947 with a degree in journalism. He married his hometown sweetheart, Averil Xander, and they moved to Oklahoma where he began working as a cub reporter for a newspaper. Bill and Averil had one daughter, Sharon, in 1948.
After exploring journalism as a career for one year, he was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug. The family moved to Waco, Texas and opened a Dairy King Ice Cream franchise. The business was very successful, but the couple missed the Midwest, so they sold the operation and moved to Chesterfield, where Bill went to work for McDonnell Douglas/Boeing Aircraft as a technical writer and was soon heading up the department where he worked until 1985. He wrote numerous training manuals and created a number of patented processes that made the company successful. He even played a large role in creating many technical manuals for NASA’s Apollo space program.
Tragedy struck the Schrader family in 1961 when their beloved daughter, Sharon, died suddenly from a brain aneurysm. To help cope with their loss, they opened an antique business that evolved into a well-respected appraisal and estate sale company. Bill and Averil continued this business throughout their lives together.
Though Bill and Averil’s lives were marred by the tragic loss of their daughter, they never stopped giving to others. The couple acted as a “transitional” family for infants and children who were going to be adopted. The couple’s generosity was not only limited to children. They also worked with adults who suffered from alcoholism and other addictions to help them re-enter society. Bill and Averil would open their home to these adults and provide a room for them and help them find employment.
Averil passed away in 2002. Even without Averil, Bill continued his charitable ways, giving generously to Children’s Hospitals and to his church. Most of all, Bill gave to his friends and family. Bill died suddenly on June 19, 2005. He is survived by one brother, Don. He was preceded in death by his parents, “Dutch” and “Pearl” Schrader and his younger brother, Bob, who served on the MACC Board of Trustees. He is also survived by one niece and two nephews.