Falmouth Education Foundation Honor Barbara & Gary Schneider

Barbara and Gary Schneider brought a midwestern optimism and an interest in education and volunteerism to Falmouth when they moved here year-round in 2001. For their long-term community support, the Falmouth Education Foundation will honor them at its annual gala on March 18, 2023.

“Anything that can add to the educational opportunities for the students and allow the teachers to be creative and innovative in their teaching is much needed when funding for education is as limited as it is,” Barbara Schneider said. “The Falmouth Education Foundation does that: it makes things happen for Falmouth kids.”

Growing up outside of Chicago, the Schneiders met at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where Barbara Schneider was earning a bachelor of arts degree in journalism education, and Gary Schneider was earning a bachelor of science degree in zoology.

Barbara Schneider earned a doctorate in leadership and policy from Loyola University; Gary Schneider earned a doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Massachusetts.

For 25 years, Barbara Schneider taught high school journalism and English in both public and private schools, primarily in the Chicago area. She was chairwoman of the English Department at Western Reserve Academy in Ohio.

Gary Schneider’s professional life was in academic medicine and research, where his original focus was on rare childhood bone diseases. He served on the faculty and in the administration for several medical schools including Northeastern Ohio Medical University, the Weill Cornell College of Medicine in Qatar and Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York City. When he retired in 2019, he was serving as the chief of research at the New England Baptist Hospital and professor of orthopedic surgery at Tufts University School of Medicine.

The Schneiders’ list of volunteer activities includes the Falmouth Community Preservation Committee, National Marine Life Center, Friends of Falmouth Dogs, Falmouth Beach Committee, Marine Mammal Rescue for International Fund for Animal Welfare, the Osprey Project, Falmouth Dog Park and local road races.

Barbara Schneider first visited Falmouth in 1977. She returned with her family every summer thereafter. In 1992 the couple built a house on Sandcastle Drive, where they live with Max, their West Highland terrier. The Schneiders have two children: Dr. Jennifer Hommeyer of Bronxville, New York, and Peter Schneider of Middlebury, Vermont, five grandchildren and two foster grandchildren.