Obituary of Helen Irene Schuster

Helen I. Schuster, 98, of Sun City Center, FL, formerly of Galva, IL, passed away on August 12, 2021 at LifePath Hospice Sun City Center Hospice House, Ruskin, FL.  Funeral services will be held on August 28, 2021 at the Galva Chapel of Stackhouse-Moore Funeral & Cremation Services.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to South Shore Concert Band, care of St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, 1239 W Del Webb Blvd, attention Leah Micklatcher.

Helen Irene Day was born January 3, 1923 in South Whitley, IN, the daughter of Roy and Elizabeth (Bernhard) Day.  She was educated in South Whitley schools and graduated from South Whitley High School in 1941.  Her marriage to Donald Schuster took place on September 30, 1952 in Aurora, IL. He passed away on December 23, 2016.

Mrs. Schuster was a musician and her career began in 1939 at South Whitley High School where she played the Alto Sax.  She became a professional musician when she was nineteen and spent eleven years on the road during the Big Band era, playing with Ada Leonard, the Quadettes, and many other bands.  She was a former member of the "Rootabaga Jammers" Swing Band at Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg, IL, where she played the Alto Sax, the South Shore Concert Band in Sun City Center, where she played Flute, and the South Bay Saxophone Ensemble where she played Alto and Soprano Sax.  She attended the United Methodist Church of Sun City Center.

Those surviving are her two daughters, Laura Gilbert, Roseville, MN, and Carol (John) Rada, Schaumburg, IL, four grandchildren, seven great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, a brother, and a sister.