Obituary: Neil Schnaible
– May 4, 2026
Neil Schnaible was born on September 7, 1970, in Lafayette, Indiana, and later moved with his family to Tucson, Arizona. In 1993, he made South Lake Tahoe his home, where he embraced a life filled with skiing, adventure, laughter, and lifelong friendships.
Neil worked at Harvey’s Lake Tahoe for more than 20 years before pursuing a career in the fire service. He graduated from LTCC in 2016, worked for Fallen Leaf Fire, and joined Lake Valley Fire Protection District in 2019, later becoming a firefighter-paramedic. He deeply loved serving his community and valued the camaraderie of his fire brothers.
In Tahoe, Neil met his unicorn and the love of his life, LeeAnn. Together with their daughter, Hailee, they built a life centered around travel, adventure, and the outdoors.
On May 1, Neil was promoted and pinned as Engineer by his wife, LeeAnn, surrounded by his department. He passed away on May 4, 2026, surrounded by those who loved him.
Neil will be remembered for his humor, infectious smile, love of the outdoors, and the way he showed up for others. His spirit can be found on every summit, every trail, every green, and every climbing route.
Neil is survived by his wife, LeeAnn; daughter, Hailee; mother, Jolene; sister, Mia; and dog, Endo.
A celebration of Neil’s life will be held at Kirkwood Mountain Resort on June 7, 2026, from 1–4 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family encourages laughter and time spent outdoors in Neil’s memory.
Obituary: Peter Baumann
October 5, 1960 – May 4, 2026
Peter Kurt Baumann 65, passed away on Monday May 4th, 2026. He was born the first child of Kurt and Ruth Baumann on October 5th, 1960 in Al Tahoe, California which later became South Lake Tahoe in 1965.
The Baumann family started their story in Lake Tahoe in 1957 when Peter’s father, Kurt, bought Schmidt’s Bakery and property. Kurt, seeing that he would need help running the new restaurant, sent word back to Germany and in 1959 a young, eager Ruth answered his call. Their bond was immediate and the two soon found themselves married. Peter arrived shortly after.
The Baumann’s have always been a hard working family and young age didn’t change that. Peter and his younger brothers, Ralph and Mark, all began working in the Swiss Chalet restaurant around 8 years old. The boys would help prep food, wash dishes, and learn how to build and repair the family business. After graduating class of 1978 from South Tahoe High School, Peter went to Europe to start his apprenticeship in fine cooking. Peter came back to the US and went to American River College and got his AA degree in business. After graduating, Peter went back to Europe to complete his apprenticeship in fine cooking.
When Peter returned home he joined the rest of the family cooking in the kitchen at the Swiss Chalet. He met his wife, Janet, there in 1989 and got married soon after. He worked extremely hard cooking and maintaining the property summer and winter for over 50 years. Peter put his heart and soul into the Swiss; it is impossible to think of the Swiss without thinking of Peter and the many great memories there.
Peter truly embodied living life to the fullest. He loved to travel with his family and friends, some of his favorite places being Bavaria, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Thailand, and Mexico. He was a gifted photographer and wood worker, and many of his friends received a piece or two of his fine work. He enjoyed skiing, fishing, camping, and listening to rock music. But his favorite thing of all was raising his son, Erich, who was his pride and joy.
Peter is survived by his wife Janet Baumann, son Erich Baumann and daughter-in-law Courtney Baumann, brother Mark Baumann and sister-in-law Melissa Baumann, and brother Ralph Baumann and niece Nicole Baumann.
A celebration of life will be held in honor of Peter with his friends and family at Sierra Community Church on June 9th at 4pm followed by a reception at Cold Water Restaurant, the former Swiss Chalet Restaurant.
If you wish to make a donation in Peter’s memory, please consider the Tahoe Area Mountain Bike Association (TAMBA), Keep Tahoe Blue, or any other non-profit that you would like to keep Peter’s memories alive.
Letters to the Editor
Liberty Electric has been ripping the locals of South Lake Tahoe off for years and the PUC approves every rate increase. The 100% rate increase since 2020 is unacceptable. We complain but PUC and the judges approve it anyway even when the latest increase was due to them causing a fire that caused a death. They should be putting the rate increases to the shareholders not the rate payers.
When there is a fire caused by the utility company they need to pay for it that is why they have insurance. When others cause the fire, that is why there is insurance, and FEMA money. Utilities take advantage of the rate payers even when insurances pick up the cost. We are sick of all the utility companies overcharging us. They should be maintaining their lines and equipment and maybe stuff wouldn’t cost so much today. Same with the water company and garbage.
South Lake Tahoe should have a municipal utility like SMUD which is affordable for the locals. The cost of living in SLT is unaffordable because it is a tourist town. It is time to stop the gouging. Gas is higher, electricity, housing, food. It is ridiculous. We have one WIFI provider Spectrum and they rip us off too $99 for WIFI and that doesn’t include cable.
No wonder the locals can afford to work and live here. We need competition for cable. Let Comcast come here at least you can negotiate. Let Verizon offer their home WIFI for $35; it never changes. Where does Nevada get their water for all these data centers? Don’t let them take it from California or Tahoe! They don’t want to give us electricity; well we should cut them off from getting water.
This AI is out of control and moving faster before regulations can get in place. We don’t have the resources to support it. I could care a less about AI. I will not use it! Where are our lawmakers to help with this. Jaron Brandon is the only one with a plan. Marie Alvarez is useless! She needs to get voted out. Vote blue! Save South Lake Tahoe!
Lisa McDonald
If Bayer has paid out billions in cancer-related deaths due to glyphosate, why in the world would they still use it? You can’t control what glyphosate destroys either. Why aren’t they using natural ways like goat scaping if they perceive a problem? When did eliminating native plants become a great idea and how many of those have medicinal properties?
Valerie Shealy
To the Editor,
As this winter season comes to a close here in South Lake, it’s worth pausing to reflect on what it asked of all of us.
It wasn’t an easy season. Weather patterns were inconsistent. Conditions were often unpredictable. Plans shifted more than anyone would have liked. For many organizations and families, simply showing up required more flexibility, patience, and persistence than usual.
At SOS Outreach, we experienced that firsthand while working with young people across the Tahoe basin. But what stood out wasn’t the challenge. It was the response.
Mentors continued to show up, week after week, creating consistency for young people who needed it. Staff, mountain partners like Heavenly and Kirkwood, and local organizations adapted in real time by creating access, finding solutions, and ensuring that young people still had a place to show up. And our participants kept coming back. They were engaging, building relationships, and trusting the space being created for them. Those moments may not make headlines, but they are what build strong communities.
In a time when young people across our community are carrying real pressure, academically, socially, and at home, having consistent, caring adults and spaces where they feel they belong matters more than ever. That’s something South Tahoe continues to do well. Not perfectly, but consistently.
As we head into the off-season and look toward what’s next, this feels like an important reminder: Community isn’t built in ideal conditions. It’s built when people continue to show up for each other, especially when things get hard.
We’re grateful to be part of a community that continues to do just that through volunteers, partners like Vail Resorts Epic Promise Foundation, families, and young people themselves.
Sincerely,
Seth Ehrlich
CEO, SOS Outreach
