Ricky "Rick" L. Schilling, age 71, fought his last battle of urothelial cancer, with his loving wife by his side holding his right hand on June 3, 2026. He was born July 13,1954, to Carl "Chas" & Lorraine "Bean" (Roberts) Schilling. He grew up and lived his entire life in the Columbus area. Rick graduated from CHS and went on to have a long career of 38 years at Mosinee Converted Products/Wausau Paper located in Columbus, until the plant closed in 2008.

He met the love of his life, Debbie Breyer, while bowling a couple's league. They were united in marriage on September 24, 1988. She convinced the city boy to move to the country, and they purchased her family's farm in the town of Elba. For 17 years on the farm, they created memories while building a home filled with love, with their two beautiful children, Amber and Colin. With horses, dogs, and cats, they enjoyed the simple life along the Crawfish River. The city called them back in 2005 and that's where their story continued.

Rick enjoyed bowling, golfing, fishing, mowing the lawn, meeting up with his "coffee crews", sitting in the garage with their dog, Tika, telling stories of his life experiences, bringing Deb flowers & chocolates, and going for rides with her in the countryside. He loved spending time with his wife, children, grandchildren, neighbors, friends and classmates. Rick was instrumental in starting a mini class reunion about 15 years ago. It is still going strong today with about 30 people that meet once a month. God bless Rick, as he was always thinking about others and how to get people together!

His brave and courageous battle of stage 4 metastatic urothelial cancer, showed the strength of his faith. In the 8 months of this horrible journey, he never complained. The inner will to keep going when the days were sheer hell, was a testament to his belief in our Lord. Jesus carried both Rick & Debbie through his cancer journey; Rick to endure this horrible disease and Deb, to be the best advocate possible for her husband.

Rick was the kindest, most caring, and gentle man you could ever meet. It was an honor to know him and be loved by him. He will be missed dearly by his wife, Debbie, daughter, Amber (Ray) Landis, son, Colin Schilling (Jessica Gardipee), grandsons, Gabriel, Joshua, and Eli Landis, sisters, Barb Larson and Carol Hageman, brothers, Gary (Linda) Schilling, Dale (Denise) Schilling, nieces, Lori (Steve) Griggs, Chris (Joe) Kuhaupt, Lisa (Brett) Hewitt, Kelli (Jiro) Perry, nephews, Wade Hageman and Kyle (Devon) Hageman, his best friend, Bruce Hatzinger, plus neighbors, classmates and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Carl & Lorraine Schilling, brother-in-laws, Gerald Larson and Dave Hageman, niece, Jody Goratowski, nephews, Shane and Derrick Larson, father and mother in-law, Martin and Sharon Breyer.

Special thanks to Bristol Hospice, who were the most caring, compassionate, helpful, kind and loving individuals, who went above and beyond in keeping Rick comfortable the last week of his life on earth. The family would like to acknowledge RN Kayla, CNA's Marissa & Julie, and on-call RN, Gabby. They all became a part of our family in such a short time. God bless these beautiful souls who helped us in our final chapter of this cancer journey.

We would also like to thank the Prairie Ridge Hospital medical teams that provided Rick's care throughout numerous hospital stays. Special thanks for Inpatient Social Worker, Amanda Stein, whose hard work was a blessing to get Rick home safely for his last days. RN's Terri, Katy, Mia and Chris, along with CNA Alyssa, who helped to keep Rick going at his most challenging days. Their kindness and compassion were incredible.

We give thanks and praise for Pastor Sandra Schieble for her dedication, support, love and kindness throughout this challenging cancer journey. Her spiritual guidance was greatly appreciated during a time when you need your faith the most. God truly placed people in our lives to help us through the past 8 months.

Thank you to everyone who kept connected to us through Rick's Caring Bridge page. His cancer journey unfolded daily through the eyes and heart of Debbie. What a wonderful platform, that had over 80 individuals and almost 30,000 views. This ministry touched many lives and it is the hope that it will help people in the future when life brings you challenges that you don't know how to face. Look up, for there lies the answers.

Rick's Celebration of Life will be held at Savanna Oaks on June 23, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. A potluck lunch will take place during this time frame. Service will be at 1:00 PM, with an Inurnment graveside ceremony at 2:00 PM, Hillside Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Columbus/Fall River Food Pantry or St. Judes Children Hospital in memory of Rick. He always believed in supporting both of these.

Just remember…Heaven changes everything…This is not goodbye, it's see you later…

We encourage you to share your online condolences with Rick's family at jensenfuneralandcremation.com