MELBOURNE, Fla. - Joel Francis Schroeder, 35, of Melbourne, Fla., formerly of Mendota, passed away April 29, 2020 at Viera Hospital Melbourne.

Private visitation and Mass of Christian Burial will be Saturday, May 9 with Fr. Randy Fronek officiating. Burial will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery. Wasmer Funeral Home is assisting the family.

Pallbearers will be Brian Barnickel, Jeremy Beetz, Peter Bittner, Eric Brown, Tyler Full, Kyle Long, Brett Meyer, Clint O’Brien and Todd Schroeder.

Joel was born Oct. 12, 1984 in Mendota to Steven and Brenda (Billmeier) Schroeder. He married Lisa Patterson on Dec. 17, 2005 in Mendota.

Survivors include his wife of Mendota; three sons, Jason, Owen and Henry, all in Mendota; his mother, Brenda Schroeder of Mendota; two brothers, Joshua (Margarita) Schroeder of Los Fresnos, Texas and Jared (Tokeshia) Schroeder of Streamwood; one sister, Jerilyn Schroeder of Mendota; five nephews; three nieces; his in-laws, Steve and Roberta Patterson of Mendota; and one sister-in-law, Carrie (Isidro) Escatel of Mendota.

He was preceded in death by his father on Aug. 8, 2016; his maternal and paternal grandparents; and his Godfather/Uncle, Ron Schroeder.

Joel graduated from Mendota High School in 2003 and from the University of Illinois in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering. During his work career, he was an aerospace engineer systems analyst, working from 2007-2010 for Northrup Grumman Corp. in Redondo Beach, Ca; 2010-2013 in Maineville, Ohio for Bell Can Corp.; 2013-2017 in O’Fallon, Mo. for Boeing; and from 2017-2020 in Melbourne, Fla. for Northrup Grumman Corp. He loved playing poker with the guys. He was a collector of Pez dispensers and was a huge fan of Seinfeld, The Simpsons and Star Wars. Cooking became a passion for Joel and he loved the musical, “Hamilton.”

Memorials may be directed to the family to establish a college fund for his children. Condolences may be left at wasmerfuneralhome.com.