Michael Edward Schroeder

Michael Edward Schroeder, age 57, passed away on September 13th, 2022 in St. Cloud, MN.

Memorial services will be held Wednesday, September 21, 2022 at 2:00 PM at Kviteseid Lutheran Church in Milan, MN with Pastor Kristine Isder officiating.

Visitation will be held one hour prior to services at the church on Wednesday.

Michael was born to Merle Schroeder and Sharon Schroeder (Eddy) on July 7, 1965 in Montevideo, MN. He graduated from Montevideo High School in 1983 and soon after enlisted in the Army.

Michael was military police in Korea and met his wife Yong Sun. They married shortly after on October 4th, 1984. Michael served in the Army and was stationed in Germany and Japan before making Milan, MN their home in 1992.

Michael and Yong Sun had their first child, Lisa in 1986 and 12 years later, in 1998, had another daughter, Rachel. Michael always joked he was surrounded by women and didn’t understand why he still had to pick up “feminine products each month” He truly was an amazing father who was willing to help anytime. He also enjoyed his time with his granddaughter, Piper. He enjoyed hearing her yell “Papa” when he would come through the door. Michael also enjoyed getting pictures of Frejya and showing her off.

Michael loved to build and began building a trailer that would become Manna Oriental Express. Michael and Yong Sun opened The MORE Cafe in Milan in 1994 and ran the cafe until 2018. The people of Milan were so supportive of their business. Yong Sun and Michael were a great team. They gave people laughs when Yong Sun would yell at Michael. Everyone joked you could hear her from the end of the street. Michael would just make a comment, grin, and keep doing what he was doing. Many said that they felt sorry for Michael because of Yong Sun’s yelling, but he probably deserved it!

Michael graduated from Concordia University-St. Paul in 2002 with his Masters Degree in Business. He would have kept going to school for the rest of his life if he had the choice.

After closing the cafe in 2018, Michael and Yong Sun would stay half time in Milan and half time in Fargo. In Fargo, they operated another food trailer until last fall.

Michael was a quiet man, but when you got him going, he always had a smart-alec response. Yong Sun never liked that. His daughters loved that about him. He loved his girls. He was an amazing papa who always ended up with the job of taking the toys out of the packages. Yong Sun and Michael got the nickname grandpapa so she didn’t need to say grandma and papa.

Michael is survived by his loving wife, Yong Sun; his daughters, Lisa Vareberg (Marc Bushee) of  Fargo, ND and Rachel Peirce (Bruce) of Chesapeake, Virginia; two granddaughters, Piper Vareberg and Freyja Peirce; brothers Matthew Schroeder (Daniella), Brent Schroeder (Tracey), and his mother, Sharon Schroeder; along with nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his father, Merle Schroeder; and his grandparents, Casper and Fraynia Schroeder.