August 30, 1981. Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The night before their first day of classes at the University of Southern Mississippi, Lonny Schraeder and Charlotte Pisarich head back to campus after a friend’s birthday party. They begin crossing the street, then blackness.

      “When I woke up, I was face-down underneath a parked car, and I didn’t know what was going on. It was like someone turned off the TV and then turned it back on,” said Schraeder in a recent interview.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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      “The ambulance came, and I can remember everything from that. They pulled me out from underneath the car and put me on a stretcher and took me to Forrest General. I can remember everything in the emergency room. I remember the doctor getting up on the table and sticking his foot in my armpit and putting my shoulder back in socket. I couldn’t catch my breath because my ribs were broken, my lung was punctured.”

      “Going in and out of surgery I kept asking ‘What happened to Charlotte? Where’s Charlotte?’ No one would tell me.”

      Schraeder’s parents were in Oklahoma when they got the call that all parents dread. They were told their son had been in an accident and that doctors did not think he would live. They immediately began the trip to Mississippi.

      It was Hal Schraeder, Lonny’s father, who finally gave Lonny the news. Charlotte had died immediately and was found 100 yards away from where Schraeder was found.

      “Four days after the accident I got gangrene in my left leg, and it had to be amputated. They amputated it three inches below the knee, and seven days after that everything broke down in my right leg, so they amputated it seven inches below the knee.”

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      March 21, 2019. Jackson, Mississippi. Lonny Schraeder accepts an award at the state capitol for his 32 years of contributions to high school athletics.

      “I don’t know that a quote could accurately sum up the impact Lonny has had on my life,” said Drew Dewease.

      After being coached by Schraeder in high school, Dewease and Schraeder stayed in touch. For the past seven years, Dewease has coached the Sacred Hearth High School football team alongside Schraeder in addition to working as a youth pastor.

      “Working with him for seven years has been a blessing. It’s made me a better coach, youth pastor and a better man,” said Dewease.

 

      A year after his accident, Schraeder returned to USM to receive his bachelor’s degree in athletic administration, followed by a master’s degree in secondary education.

      He began coaching football at Petal High School in 1987, becoming the head coach in 2000.

      His coaching career would take him to Oak Grove High School in 2005 and then to Sacred Heart High School as head coach in 2012. While at Oak Grove and Sacred Heart, Schraeder has also served as the powerlifting coach.

      Schraeder is the proud husband of Missy Schraeder, with whom he has four children, a daughter-in-law, three grandchildren and several cats and dogs.

      “To know him is to love him,” said Lonny’s 29-year-old daughter Kate Schraeder. “I’ve never met anyone who knew my dad who didn’t go on and on about how great amazing he is.”

      As a biology teacher as well as a powerlifting and football coach, Schraeder has positively impacted countless people in his career. His story inspires people to pursue faith and exhibit compassion always.

      Mariana Moreno, a former student of Schraeder’s, said, “I know Lonny not only as a family friend but as a mentor and coach.He is kind, genuine, honest, and devotional. You can easily see that his adversities in life have helped build him into the strong person he is, while not letting them hold him back from his job, family or everyday life. He is a shining example of what it means to persevere and succeed no matter what conflicts or roadblocks you may face.”

      Schraeder will continue to tell his story of hope in his role as a high school teacher at Sacred Heart High School.

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            “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future,” said Schraeder. “I’m excited to see what’s in store for me in this next chapter of my life.”

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