Says He Aided Medical Science : Surgeon Lauds Schroeder at Heart Patient’s Funeral

William J. Schroeder showed great love for those around him and contributed generously to medical science, his surgeon said Saturday at the funeral for the man who lived longest with an artificial heart.

“He has left this world a better place because of his short sojourn on this earth,” Dr. William C. DeVries said of Schroeder, who was 54 when he died Wednesday after living 620 days with the Jarvik-7 heart.

Schroeder, who received the Jarvik-7 on Nov. 25, 1984, was the second man to receive a Jarvik-7 heart as a permanent replacement and outlived all three subsequent recipients.

Catholic Funeral Mass

About 500 people attended the funeral Mass at St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Schroeder’s hometown.

“I’ll always remember the love he had in his heart for all the people who helped him,” said DeVries, who delivered the eulogy.

“He was a generous man who pushed the seeds of a tree into the ground knowing he may never bask in its shade,” the doctor said.

Praise for Family

Father Othmar Schroeder, an uncle of the heart patient, delivered the homily. He praised Schroeder’s family “for the powerful example they set before us of what it means to be a family.”

Addressing them directly, he said: “Your willingness to set aside your plans to be with your dad and your many trips to Louisville was evidence of your love for your dad.”

The priest also praised his nephew’s contribution to medical science.

“His willingness to follow an uncharted course demonstrated his faith and trust in God, and that faith will not go unrewarded,” he said. “God will look down in favor on the service he performed for others.”

Flag-Draped Coffin

Schroeder’s four sons served as pallbearers, and at one point in the service the family gathered around the flag-draped coffin to clasp hands.

Margaret Schroeder, the heart patient’s wife, left the church between two daughters as a light drizzle fell.

At the cemetery, she received the U.S. flag that covered her husband’s coffin from an American Legion representative who said it represented “services he rendered to the country.”

Two Uncles Prayed

At the graveside service, Othmar Schroeder and Father Sylvester Schroeder, another uncle, prayed over the coffin. At the end of the brief ceremony, friends approached one by one to sprinkle the coffin with holy water.

A six-man American Legion squad then fired a rifle salute three times and a bugler played taps.

Honorary pallbearers included Dr. Robert K. Jarvik, who developed the Jarvik-7 artificial heart. Several nurses from Humana Hospital Audubon in Louisville also participated in the church service.