Douglas A.F. Schnase

Douglas Arthur Franklin Schnase, 81, Bismarck, passed away on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, at a Mandan care center. Cremation has taken place and service will take place at a later date.

Douglas was born in Minot on July 10, 1925, the son of Henry “Hank” and Bertha (Bakken) Schnase. 

In 1943 he was hospitalized with encephalitis. He was in a coma for 22 days which was complicated by a high fever. This destroyed the part of his brain which controlled movement and resulted in cerebral palsy. He attended the Anne Carlsen School in Jamestown through the seventh grade in a dormitory setting, only allowing him to go home during summer vacation and holidays. During the eighth grade he attended Aston School for Handicapped Children in Salinas, California, a day program where he would get to go home each night to be with his family. Realizing that attending this kind of school he would not be able to attain his goals of graduating and attending college, the family moved back to Minot expecting Douglas to return to the Anne Carlsen School, but there was no opening available. Doug attended nineth grade at public school for the first time on a six-week trial basis. The school was not wheelchair accessible, so he relied on the help of peers to carry him up the five flights of stairs. With continued success and help from his peers, he continued to attend public school. At graduation he received a standing ovation from students and audience, being the first handicapped student to attend. He then went on to attend Minot State College where he again relied on help from his peers for stairs. He joined the international fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon while there. In 1967 he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration.

Douglas learned to drive with the assistance of a special hand-controlled mechanism for the foot petals. He had several cars throughout his life adapted to keep his independence. He worked for the ND State Highway Department and Central Processing Department as a program analyst until his retirement in 1985. He then chose to be a stay-at-home dad and an advocate for helping people with disabilities stay independent. He was very active with Amigo, the first motorized wheelchairs, being a dealer for southwestern ND. He also ran his business D.J. Mobility Systems and invented a device to hold the camera steady for his photography hobby. In 1981 legislation he was the voice for the disabled, initiating the bill exempting disabled (non-veteran) individuals from paying sales tax on motor vehicles and their modifications.

In 1972 he designed and acted as the general contractor for his first residence at 2228 Kennedy Ave. He lived there for 20 years until 1997 when Douglas designed and oversaw the building of his second home, an up-down twin house to provide handicapped accessible upstairs and rental income from downstairs. His daughter now resides there.

On November 8, 1975, he married Judy Woodland at the Bismarck Baptist Church. They divorced in 1995 and remarried on November 8, 2013.

He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Wendy and Dan Kreft; grandchildren, Drake and Saige Buehner and his best friend, Cary Berg. He was preceded in death by his wife, Judy and his parents, Hank and Bertha and brother Dennis.