Mary Ellen (Charette) Schimmel

MARY ELLEN SCHIMMEL

October 19, 1950 – February 7, 2019

Mary Ellen Schimmel, age 68, joined her parents, Robert E. Charette and Genevieve L. Charette; her foster mother, Kerry Fisher; her father-in-law, Albert W. Schimmel Jr; her mother-in-law ,Athene Z. Schimmel; and her daughter, Heidi J. Schimmel on February 7, 2019.

She is survived by her husband of 37 years, Albert W. Schimmel III; 2 sons, Albert W. (Erica) Schimmel IV and Joseph J. (Danica) Schimmel; 5 grandchildren, Damien, Malaya, Seth, Benjamin and Raylynn; 13 siblings, Mark (Pat) Charette of Arlington, VA, Paul (Cindy) Charette of Lansing, MI, Margaret (Peter) Corrigan of Manchester, NH, Peter (Anne) Charette of Monterey, CA, Teresa (Doug) Fuller of Grand Ledge, MI, Tom Charette of Fort Collins, CO, John (Kathy) Charette of Manistee, MI, Joan (Rick) Showalter of Williamston, MI, Christina Fisher of Detroit, MI, Anna Fisher of East Lansing, MI, Dennis (Sharon) Fisher of Williamston, MI, Tim (Alma) Fisher of Monterey, CA and Mary Jo (Marty) Stowe of Carlsbad, CA; sister-in-law Elizabeth Miller of Pittsfield, IL; brother-in-law John Schimmel of Lewisville, TX; and 34 nieces and nephews, Genie (Scott) Tami, Mike (Jennifer) Charette, Kate (Trent) Spencer, Emily (Mike) Phillipich, Peter (Emily) Charette, Liam Corrigan, Aidan Corrigan, David (Natalie) Neubert-Cleary, Jennifer (Steve) Mason, Corinne (John) Bonynge, Chris Fuller, Liz (Jaie) Bemiss, Adam (Allison) Charette, Andrew (Anne) Charette, Jake (Jamie) Charette, Joe Charette, Alaina Charette, Greg (Becky) Fisher, Rachel (Ethan) Stringfellow, Trent Fisher, Chad Fisher, Brett Fisher, Scott Fisher, Devon Fisher,  Kerry Fisher, Mia Fisher, Patrick Stowe, Brian Stowe, Paul (Kari) Takahashi, Alex Takahashi, Chasity (Michael) Polina, Aaron (Miranda) Schimmel, Kurt Schimmel and Kari Schimmel.

Mary Ellen was born in Menominee, MI and lived in Marinette, WI, Sheboygan, WI, Chevy Chase, MD, Haslett, MI, East Lansing, MI, Honolulu, HI, Sacramento, CA, Pacific Grove, CA, Columbia, MO, Pittsfield, IL, Corrales, NM and Albuquerque, NM during her lifetime.

She was a graduate of Catholic Central (fka Msgr Gabriels) High School in Lansing, MI, and attended Monterey Peninsula Community College, John Wood Community College and Central New Mexico Community College.  She earned her BS and MS degrees in clinical psychology, summa cum laude from University of Illinois at Springfield and worked with her husband for 23 years.  During her lifetime, Mary Ellen also worked as a cook, camp counselor, telephone operator, lei stringer, retail clerk, medical transcriptionist, foster mother, taught foster and adoptive parenting classes, legal assistant, clinical psychologist and was a professional singer for many years in CA where she sang with a latin band and as a jazz singer in Sacramento, CA and Lake Tahoe, NV.  In her spare time, she enjoyed singing with Enchanted Mesa Show Chorus (Sweet Adelines) in Albuquerque, NM and was active in the Pittsfield (IL) Theatre Guild.  Her hobbies included sewing, crafting, traveling, writing, reading, singing and acting.  She was devoted to her pets.

A Celebration of her life will be held in May.  Her family requests that donations in her honor be given to the Animal Humane Society of New Mexico at www.animalhumanenm.org.  Happy Trails to you, Sweetie Pie, until we meet again.