William "Bill" Schell

William “Bill” John Schell, 78, died on September 19, 2026.

Bill was born on October 9, 1947, to John and Neola (Paine) Schell. He was the sixth of seven children and grew up on the family farm on Schell Hill in Minnieska, MN. In his younger years, Bill enjoyed playing basketball while attending and graduating from Holy Trinity School in Rollingstone, MN.

In 1966, Bill joined the U.S. Navy and was stationed in California before serving two tours in Vietnam. Following his service in the Navy, Bill owned and operated Bill’s Welding and Machine, where he spent his life serving Rollingstone and surrounding communities as a talented welder and fabricator. He was able to put his skills and talents to work by having the remarkable ability of taking a simple drawing, sometimes sketched on nothing more than a napkin, and turning it into something fully functional. From awnings, to railings, to bridges and buckets ... Bill could build it. One of his greatest accomplishments was fabricating mighty manure tanks from the ground up. When he wasn’t fabricating, he took pride in repairing endless farm equipment, or really anything that needed welding, for the locals.

Bill married Elaine Rustad and together, they had two children, Jennifer and Terry. Together they purchased a second business in Rollingstone, Schell’s Grocery and Cafe from his mother, Neola. They eventually divorced. In 1991, Bill married Rhonda (Byom) Ties; the two worked side by side at Bill’s Welding and Machine. Together, as time allowed, they enjoyed many NASCAR races and traveling to Mexico with close and dear friends as well as many motorcycle rides and adventures.

In his free time, Bill enjoyed golfing ... lots of golfing. He also enjoyed traveling with his golf buddies, his fishing trips to Canada, shooting pool, watching his grandkids play sports,spending time with his buddies at the VFW and the Legion, and of course morning coffee at Bonnie Rae’s.

Bill is survived by wife, Rhonda; daughter, Jennifer (Corey) Stephans of Eyota, MN; son, Terry (Shannon) Schell of Rochester, MN; sister, Sandra (Tom) Hengel of Rollingstone, MN and Mary (Reeve) Kahabka of Gilbert, AZ; brother, Edwin (Beverly) Schell of Winona, MN; grandchildren, Tarrin and Tyler Stephans, and Elliot, Isaac, and Easton Schell; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Neola Schell; brothers, Major Richard Schell (MIA - Vietnam), John “Jack” Schell, and Jim Schell; sister-in-law, Sue Schell and nephew/godson Randy Schell.

A special thank you to Linda and Paul Harris, Mary Jane Reed, Winona Health Hospice, and, all of our family and friends for their support at the end.

In lieu of flowers, donations are welcome to the Honor Flight Network to support veterans, like Bill, honor our nation’s heroes with the trip of a lifetime, which Bill received in April 2026.

Visitation will be on Thursday, September 24, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and two hours prior to the service on Friday. Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, September 25, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at Hoff Celebration of Life Center in Goodview, MN. Private family burial will be held at a later date.

Military honors will take place after the service by the Winona VFW.

Hoff Funeral Home is assisting the family.

The service will be livestreamed through the link below:

https://together.oneroomstreaming.com/ZRV7TP

Part 2 of the livestream is below

https://together.oneroomstreaming.com/REXPCP