Birth date: Sep 27, 1940 Death date: Oct 9, 2022
William Martin Schneider was born in Richmond, Virginia, to Florence (Fine) Schneider and Milton Schneider. Bill graduated from high school in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1958 where he was active in the Aleph Zadik Aleph (AZA) Read Obituary
Mary Jo, we are so saddened to hear of Bill passing. He was a remarkable person and we were very fortunate to know him. We are grateful for sweet memories with him and those times of good conversations at your kitchen table. Our sincere condolences to you and the family.
Love, Millie and Don Nelms
Dear Mary Jo and Family, I am so saddened to hear of Bill’s passing. I have many fond memories from our times together years ago. Bill’s love of life, his love for you, his family, and his many, many good friends and students was vibrantly apparent. He had the rare ability to easily connect with others and make them feel valued. Thinking of you with sympathy and love.
Dear Mary Jo, I’m so sorry to hear of Bill's passing. Although I didn’t know him well, I have fond memories of him. The linguistics class I took from him was not only fascinating; I also met my future wife, Sharon, in it! Most of the moments I recall, though, date from when I took his Kinship, Marriage, and Politics class. He had such a relaxed, human style of teaching. It was a first or second period class, and he always had his mug of coffee. One morning, we arrived to find him with a piece of chalk at the blackboard. He was putting up a complex kinship system diagram—I have no recollection now of which it was, but when he finished, he stood away from the board with his coffee and surveyed the results. Then he turned and said, as if confidentially, to the students, “I think there’s something wrong with it. Do any of you see where the mistake is?” We didn’t, but I felt honored that he’d ask. We used Robin Fox’s little book for the main text, and once, a student mentioned that its author had an amusing animal-like name. Bill responded with a twinkle in his eye that Fox had also co-written a book with Lionel Tiger. I’d pay money to own recordings of some of those lectures. He often shared stories of his time with the Selako Dayak, including a vivid description of certain aspects of their male initiation. I learned a non-anthropological word from him, too—it was the first time I’d ever heard the concept of the “liminal.” Seems like I hear it frequently nowadays, but it always reminds me of Bill. Finally, another random impression—he mentioned at one point in class that when he was younger, it was the custom, if you dropped a book, to kiss it when you picked it up. With my love of books, this struck me as a perfectly natural and respectful thing to do. I lose my grip on objects more often than I used to, and it’s made me feel better to put this custom into personal practice. I’ll reiterate that Bill’s passing saddens me--one sensed his kindness immediately, and in my opinion his many accomplishments were worn lightly--but I hope you and your family will take comfort in having lived closely with him for so long. As stated above, I didn't know him well, but I consider him to have been a good and remarkable man.
Baruch Dayan Ha’emet. Billy was my older cousin through my father Jack Fine. 14 years older than I am and I just thought he was the best along with the other older cousins Jonathan Fine and Elaine Fine. I cherish my memories of those days with his parents Florence and Milton. They were all so lovely and kind to me. I was just a kid but Billy graciously put up with me. I loved it when they visited us at our house in Richmond. The last time we spoke he laughed and said few people called him Billy. I guess I was one of the lucky ones.
Bill was our wonderful friend. He and Mary Jo shared so many precious memories with us. Too many to count. He was such a great conversationalist, bartender for our son’s wedding and assistant boat captain. He had a great impact on our lives and we send our deepest sympathy and love to Mary Jo and their precious family.
I only knew Dr. Schneider through undergraduate and grad school. He along with Mary Jo were fantastic teachers! His knowledge and kindness was an inspiration. Thinking of you.
Bill was a kind and unassuming man. He was also a bright man and great scholar. His Anthropological research and teaching contributions will forever be a part of his legacy. Annette and I are deeply saddened by his loss.
Mike and Annette Robbins
When I was 12 my family moved to North Carolina from Rhode Island and I was a lost soul. Cousin Billy was at Chapel Hill at the time. His mom and my mom shared the same dad. ( Wolfe Fine). Billy took me under his wing and special ordered The Lord of the Rings from the college bookstore because I couldn’t find it. He discussed cultural differences and played chess with me and treated me like a grown up. I didn’t see much of him growing up but will I never forget his many kindnesses and our discussions that helped me to find a place to fit in. He was a good man and a great example to look up to. Shalom, Billy. Condolences to MaryJo- he’s out of pain now. Sending a virtual hug.
What an amazing man. Wonderful obituary.
My heart breaks as I realize I won’t see sweet Bill walking past my house everyday. He was such a bright light wherever he went. I enjoyed working with he and Mary Jo on our Hilltop Association. Ron and I send our love and prayers to Mary Jo,their beautiful family and multitude of lifelong friends
