Elaine M. Schauls

Elaine M. Schauls, 87, of La Crosse, was born to Eternal Life on Friday, October 23, 2026 at Emplify Health. She was welcomed to heaven by her late husband, James J. Schauls and her beloved parents, Russell and Marie Rick as well as many other family members and friends. She was born February 14, 1939 in La Crosse, WI and graduated from Aquinas High School. Elaine later graduated from UW-La Crosse with a BS degree in Education and married James J. Schauls on August 5, 1961 at Blessed Sacrament Parish. Shortly after marrying, Elaine and Jim started a family and Elaine quickly became the role model for love that created the glue that would lead to her family’s success. She demonstrated the beauty of love being a choice as she always chose love for her parents and her husband, children, grandchildren and friends.

Elaine put family first during the good as well as the challenging times and was always willing to sacrifice her time and energy for all. She supported her husband in his work and dedicated herself to raising their children. She not only was a substitute teacher in her children’s schools, but she also put in countless hours volunteering; taught Great Books, served hot lunch, chaperoned field trips and helped with fundraisers. She provided daycare for her grandchildren and supported them in the pursuit of their dreams. Later on, she continued her volunteer work at church and through the Library Outreach Program.

In addition to love of family, Elaine was blessed with great friends and neighbors along the way. She was able to connect and maintain friendships for a lifetime. She would never get rich on bridge games with friends, but was always so proud to be the “big winner” or “big loser” and collect her $0.75 or quarter! She also enjoyed dessert exchanges and pontoon outings on the river with friends and provided the best appetizers for the voyage. Elaine was the master “navigator” of fun for both family and friends. She kept a close eye on the weather for local and “Up North” outdoor activities that included camping, surfboarding, skiing, fishing and going out for meals and ice cream. She was always the first to pick fruit off the bushes on the side of the road and took great risk in consuming the world’s largest blueberry... definitely her biggest mistake!

She was an avid travel researcher and planner for many years. Trips to New York, California, Florida, Germany and many more. Elaine enjoyed cruises, visiting the tropics and Alaska, but most of all, the Grand Cayman which was an annual trip for her and Jim for more than 30 years! When Jim passed away in 2019, she kept the adventures going and enjoyed smaller trips with her children and their families.

When it was time to relax, Elaine’s passion was reading. The staff at both the La Crosse Public Library and the Onalaska Public Library knew her by name! She was first on the list for many best sellers and had to keep a list of what she had read as it was too long to remember. She was a mystery reader and would not consider reading other types which she referred to as “those kinds of books”.

Elaine will be greatly missed. She is survived by three children; Debra (Michael) Schneider of Stone Lake, WI, Shari (Terrence) Wass of Wind Lake, WI and Michael Schauls of Wausau, WI; six grandchildren, Alyssa (Beau) Bredeson, Austin Schneider, Hayes (Celia) Wass, Abby Wass and Alexis and Allison Schauls.

Elaine’s family would like to give a special thanks to the End of Life Staff and Palliative Care Team at Emplify Health and the staff at Bethany St. Joseph Care Center for the wonderful care that they provided for our mom.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:30am on Monday, October 26 at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Onalaska with Msgr. Steven Kachel officiating. Burial will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, La Crosse. Visitation will be held at the church on Monday, October 26 from 10:30am until 11:30am.