Jim Schooler is a fourth generation funeral director with the independently-owned Schooler Funeral Home. He is a member of both the Texas Funeral Directors and the National Funeral Directors Association. Jim brings his boundless energy to serving Amarillo through civic organizations such as the Better Business Bureau Foundation, the Amarillo Beautification Committee, and the Amarillo Special Events Venue Board. He is an active member of the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce, the Amarillo Downtown Rotary Club, and St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church. Jim supports the Amarillo Opera though his involvement with the Impresario Society.

He enjoys renovating and restoring residential as well as some commercial properties, including three funeral homes. Jim is an advocate for mental health causes as he stresses the need for grief counseling and family care, especially for the families of suicide victims. He is currently an active and invaluable member of the board for Samaritan Counseling Center.

Mary Schooler, has a great history of volunteerism in the Amarillo community. She is active in promoting women’s health issues by being a past honorary chairman of the Panhandle Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, being the co-founder of Women in Touch (for breast cancer survivors), and being a member of the Amarillo Breast Health Coalition. Mary chaired the advisory board of Baptist St. Anthony’s Hospice/Olivia’s Angels and she has served on the boards of Meals on Wheels and the St. Anthony’s Hospital Foundation. She is a longtime volunteer for Meals on Wheels. She is a member of the Junior League Advisory Council. She is long-standing chairman of the annual Amarillo Community Prayer Breakfast. Mary was on the founding board of the High Plains Food Bank as well as serving on the boards of Catholic Family Service, the Downtown Women’s Center, and Mothers Against Drunk Driving. She was named a Woman of Distinction (1986) by the Amarillo Soroptimists, the Outstanding Sustaining Member of the Junior League of Amarillo, and the Globe News Woman of the Year in 1995. She was honored as the Downtown Women’s Center 2008 Donor of the Year. She is an active member of St. Thomas the Apostle Church. Mary has been a volunteer with the American Cancer Society since 1996, volunteering with the Reach to Recovery visitation program for breast cancer patients, as well as being a Regional Trainer for the Reach to Recovery program. She also has served on the Board of Directors and Breast Health Awareness committee. As well as being a volunteer, Mary also supports the American Cancer Society fundraisers such as the Cattle Baron’s Ball and Relay for Life.

Maurice Schooler has been active in the funeral industry since 1953, serving as past president of the Panhandle Funeral Directors Association He was also honored as Panhandle Funeral Director of the year.

Maurice is very generous with his time as a volunteer in the Amarillo community. He is past president of Better Business Bureau, BSA Second Chance Foundation, Amarillo Business and Professional Club, American Cancer Society, and Amarillo Club.

He also served as a director of High Plains Eye Bank and as Chairman YMCA Capital Fund Drive. He was honored as the Downtown Women’s Center 2008 Donor of the Year.

Maurice currently serves on the board of the Mary E. Bivins Foundation and is an active member of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church. He enjoys traveling, fishing, and being a proud and loving grandparent in his spare time.

Bonnie Patrick Pennington, joined the Schooler Family in November 1997. A life long resident of Amarillo, she graduated from Tascosa High School in 1987. With the support of her family and that of the Schooler family, Bonnie graduated from Amarillo College in 2000 with an Applied Science Degree in Mortuary Science under the guidance of Jason Altierri.

Bonnie has been married to Scott since 1989. They have a daughter, Cheyanne, who attends West Texas A&M University. In addition to her daughter, she has a menagerie of four legged “kids” both big and small. She takes great pride in the cow bred and reining horses that she raises.

When not at the funeral home, Bonnie can generally be found at the barn or traveling to the next horse show in support of her daughter. She enjoys the great outdoors, loves to camp, hunt and fish. She is a member of the Arena of Life Church in Amarillo, the Golden Spread Emmaus Community, National Funeral Directors Association, APHA, AQHA, and has served as a past board member for the Amarillo SPCA and the Amarillo South Rotary Club.

Robert was born and raised in Amarillo. He has spent the past five years in the funeral industry. Robert joined the staff of Schooler Funeral Home in 2009 as Funeral Director and Embalmer. He earned an Associates Degree in Applied Science in 2006 from the Amarillo College Mortuary Science Program. Robert is also on the Advisory Board for the Amarillo College Mortuary Science Program.

Robert enjoys spending time with his wife, Michelle, racing Radio Control Cars, and working with his fresh and salt water aquariums. They attend Hillside Christian Church, and devote time to AMBUCS, an organization aimed at helping children with disabilities.

Patricia Garcia has been with the Schooler Family since February, 2009. She is a licensed funeral director and embalmer and received an Associate’s Degree in Mortuary Science from Amarillo College in May, 2010. A native of the Panhandle of Texas, Patricia moved to Austin in 1979 where she lived for 26 years and was a stay-at-home mom to her four children for over 14 years. She truly felt a calling to the funeral service industry after the passing of her mother and grandmother within 7 months of each other. The compassion with which her family was treated stirred a desire within her to assist and care for other families during their time of need. Treating people with care is her motivation and because she is bilingual, she has a particular desire to serve the Hispanic community. Patricia is a senior at West Texas A & M University and will graduate with a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree in August, 2011. She and her husband Rudy enjoy riding their Harley every chance they get. Between them, they have 9 children and 4 grandchildren and they enjoy spending as much time with them as possible. They are members of Living Water Christian Fellowship in Canyon.

Pat Belcher has been a Funeral Director Assistant with Schooler Funeral Home since December 2008. She retired from Xcel Energy as an Executive Assistant after 21 years of service. Pat loves working with the Schooler family and enjoys serving the families in need.

She has been married to Bobby 42 years. They have one daughter, two sons, and six grandchildren. Pat enjoys the outdoors, gardening, and reading. She delights in her grandchildren and attends as many of their school and sporting activities as possible. Pat is a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church.

Renea Collins, a native of Amarillo, she looks forward to assisting the directors and working closely with families. She became widowed in 2007, after her husband, John Collins of 13 years lost his battle with Leukemia. She has two children; Jashua, and Mackenzie. Renea plays a very active role in her children’s lifes, and is a member of Paramount Baptist Church.

Renea is a long time member of the Jeep Exclusive club, in which she calls her favorite pass time. It helps her keep her late husband’s memory alive since he introduced her and built her rig. Renea participates in the Jeep Challenge which is held every September in the Beautiful Palo Duro Canyon on the Figure Three Ranch. Renea volunteers through the American Cancer Society, and is a team captain for team “Fearless” for the Relay For Life. She also participates in other walks not only for cancer, but also for Cystic Fibrosis Great Stride walk and is on team “Believe”.

David was born and raised in Lubbock, Texas and graduated from Texas Tech University in 1989. He began his career in the funeral industry in Lubbock in 1998 and has been with Schooler Funeral Home since August of 2009. He is currently a mortuary student at Amarillo College studying to be a funeral director.
He and his wife have been married since 1988 and have two children, a son, 20, and a daughter, 18. They are members of Trinity Baptist Church.

Vicki Howard
Advanced Planning Specialist

Vicki is a graduate of Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science and has been involved in Funeral service for over 30 years. She brings experience and knowledge when assisting and serving her families in making Funeral Prearrangements.

Married to husband Asa and they are members of St. Paul United Methodist Church. Vicki is a Member of the Order of the Eastern Star, an avid Barbie and Doll collector and member of Doll Friends of Amarillo.

Mary Jo has been with Schooler Funeral Home for over five years. She started as our evening receptionist, and now works as our Insurance Representative assisting families with the filling of pre-need plans and private insurance. Mary Jo retired as Vice President in operations from First National Bank in Canyon. She has two children, Brent who graduated from KU and is self employed as a consultant in the railroad industry, and Teri, Women’s Athletic Director and Head Basketball Coach for Southlake Carroll ISD. Mary Jo enjoys traveling, reading, attending her daughter’s team athletic events and her dog “ Lil Bit”.

Misty has been working for Schooler Funeral Home for the past 9 years as a funeral director assistant. Misty works in many aspects of the funeral home and enjoys working with the families that she meets. She also works in image processing for Valero Energy since 1998. She has a 14 year old daughter named Brianna and they are members of Faith Clinic Church. They enjoy shopping and spending time with friends. Misty and Brianna love spending most of their free time with family.

Scott M. Edwards, Jr. has been working at Schooler Funeral Home since 2006. He is a licensed Funeral Director and received his Certificate of Completion in Mortuary Science from Amarillo College in 2006. A native of Amarillo, Scott graduated from West Texas A & M University Canyon, TX with a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree. Before joining the Schooler family, Scott worked as a Manager for AT&T retiring in 2006 after 26 years of continuous service. Scott very much enjoys being a Funeral Director and assisting families by providing guidance and compassion during their most difficult time. He is a member of First Christian Church in Amarillo and is a long time board member for the Eveline Rivers Christmas Project. Scott enjoys spending his free time doing volunteer work and traveling but especially loves raising his “four legged critters” Chance, Mae Ling and Atticus.

Born and raised in Amarillo, Kally attended Randall High School and graduated in 2007. She began working at Schooler Funeral Home in the fall of 2008, and is finishing her Mortuary Science degree through Common Wealth University. When she is not working she enjoys spending time with her family and pets. God and family have always played an important role in her life. Over 50 years ago, her family began attending Fairlane Church of Christ in Amarillo and that is the church she still attends today. She loves the outdoors, exercising, and visiting with friends over a cup of coffee. She has always felt so priveledged to work with amazing people and such wonderful families at Schooler Funeral Home.

Jeannie Friddell joined the Schooler Family for the 2nd time in April 2009. After retiring from Amarillo Independent School District in May 2003, she worked at Schooler Funeral Home as the receptionist for three years. Jeannie loves working with the Schooler family helping serve families and especially enjoys using her bilingual abilities to help our Spanish speaking families.

Jeannie and husband Norman have two children, Shelley Jones, who is a teacher at Amarillo College, Dr. Tony Friddell who resides in Chattanoogo, TN, five granddaughters and one grandson.

Jeannie is an active member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, where she currently serves as Past President of the Altar Society, Eucharistic Minister and Lector. She is a board member on the DeFalco Retreat Center, Deanery Board member, DCCW, NCCW, ARW and is a past officer of Pilot Club and Amarillo Soroptimist Club. When not volunteering her time she relaxes by spending time with her grandchildren and family, walking, reading and spending time with friends.