AUBURN – Sherwood Nolan Schroeder, 87, of North Auburn passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday, Dec. 31, at his home.

He was born in Carlisle, Ind., in 1921.

He and his wife, the former Patricia Eileen Krackenberger, who preceded him in death, had lived in Auburn since 1972.

Upon graduation from Wiley High School in Terre Haute, Ind., he attended Indiana State University until the outbreak of World War II. During the war, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps in the Pacific Theater as a radio repair technician on military aircraft.

After the war, he obtained a bachelor of science degree from the University of Maine and subsequently obtained a master’s degree in bacteriology from the University of New Hampshire. He then worked as a microbiologist at the U.S. Army research labs at Fort Detrick, Frederick, Md., until his retirement and move to Maine.

He had many hobbies and interests throughout his life. He was an amateur “rockhound,” a self-taught gem cutter, and lover of all animals, both wild and domesticated.

He is survived by his daughter, Patricia Anne, wife of David C. Hill, of Conestoga, Penn.; and two granddaughters, Jessica Lynne, wife of David Gerlach, of Rheems, Penn., and Emily Kathryn Hill of Washington, D.C.