Taking place after a sun-drenched April Fools Day that followed a surprise late-winter blizzard, the memorial service for Richard (a.k.a. Rick, a.k.a. Nook) Schoenfeld, packed the third floor event space above Brit’s Pub in Minneapolis with family, friends, and colleagues gathered to celebrate the former editor of PLSN’s life.
Supported by a $2,500 donation from Just a Bunch of Roadies, the gathering combined laughter, tears, and memories as Nook’s widow, Mary Lou Wichlacz, welcomed visitors wearing bright pink. Longtime friend John Featherstone from Lightswitch, chronicled the narrative arc of Nook’s life as the event’s emcee.
Featherstone welcomed the crowd and shared his observations of Nook’s unique qualities, including his remarkable communication skills, lighting skills, and capacity to interact with others with an ability to feel “present in the moment.” He also lauded Nook’s eagerness to master his craft and share his wisdom, nurturing others as a mentor.
Nook’s three siblings—older brother Norm, “favorite sister” Laurie, and younger brother Jeff—each took a turn at the open mic on stage, sharing funny stories of their brother known as Ricky or Rick, recalling Nook’s childhood and formative years as a child, teen, and young adult. Their words got support from a lighting, audio, and video assist from Legacy Production Group in Minneapolis, where Nook kept an office for his duties as PLSN editor, and along with a progression of photos from Nook’s life, there were video contributions from people who could not travel to the Minneapolis event, including Nook’s 91-year-old father, Leonard, from Southern California, and Chris Lose, who took over Nook’s spot as LD-at-Large columnist, who shared his gratitude for his friend and mentor from the road as a touring lighting director.
The Legacy Productions support team included Tom Gorman, Tom McKnight, Jeremy Mason, and Adam Eichten, along with musicians Tom Liebermann on guitar and Tim O’Keefe on percussion and harmonica. Attendees at the event included Just a Bunch of Roadies founder Charlie Hernandez and PLSN founder Terry Lowe.
Attendees smiled as friends recalled fishing expeditions with Nook and his oldest son from his first marriage, Hunter, who spent much of the day repeating, again and again, “I love you dad”. They cried as Nook’s second wife, Mary Lou, spoke of how much she missed him and vowed to do her best to honor his spirit and continue raising their son, Lenny, without him.
After several hours of heartfelt memories and tributes outlined a life packed with adventure, humor, and inspiration, Featherstone returned to the mic, concluding that, in the end, Nook’s love for his family, friends, and colleagues on the road was “his brightest light” and, even with all his career achievements, stand as his most important legacy. “I know that we’re going to see some epic sunsets now that Nook’s involved,” Featherstone said.
Scholarship in Nook’s Name
Richard “Nook” Schoenfeld’s wife, Mary Lou and family are looking to establish a scholarship in his name at The Arete Academy, which is a school one of his son attends. The Arete Academy is celebrating their 10th year as a school and are developing a scholarship drive: ten $10k scholarships for their 10th year.
Nook’s family hope to raise enough funds to name one of the scholarships in Nook’s honor. Donation can be made directly to the school at https://www.areteacademymn.org/giving. They are tracking the donations so funds will go into the scholarship program.
Arete Academy is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational institution recognized by the IRS, and donations may be tax deductible.
