Obituary of Mary Lou Schwartz

 Mary Lou Schwartz , December 26, 1920 to January 14, 2022

Mary Lou Brown Schwartz peacefully passed away Friday, January 14, 2022, in Tucson, AZ, at the age of 101. The third of four children, she was born December 26, 1920, in Donora, PA, to Mary Nettie Kooser and Peter H. Brown. She earned her RN degree in Pittsburgh. In May of 1942, she married John (Jack) Meese Schwartz. They raised their four children in Flint, Michigan, and retired to the Chapel Hill NC area. After Jack’s death in 2006, she moved to Richmond VA and to Tucson AZ in 2017. Mary Lou was a dignified, compassionate person, whose quiet, witty sense of humor was enjoyed by many. She loved to shop for antiques (especially with her husband), and she knew the differences between pressed and Fry glass. She was an avid reader, including the Bible, Civil War history, and current events; she supported literacy causes with both time and resources. Her skills included baking fabulous potato rolls and angel food cakes from scratch, hand-quilting, and maintaining orchids through many bloom cycles. She was a superior bridge player who (almost) never criticized her partner and was widely admired for pleasantly tolerating her husband’s repeated stories. Mary Lou’s eleven grandchildren and seventeen great-grandchildren affectionately called her ‘Chickee.’ At 101 she was preceded in death by her generation of Browns and Schwartzes. She is survived by her children, Chuck (Phyllis), Mary Jo, Helen, and John (Diane), their families, many nieces/nephews and great nieces/nephews. Acts of kindness and compassion would honor her legacy.