Obituary : Mary L. Schwarz
Published: September 10, 2009
Mary Louise "Mamise" Schwarz, 91, died on September 2 at her home in Vineyard Haven of natural causes.
Born in Bangor, Maine, to Charles P. and Marion (Brown) Conners, she was the middle daughter of five sisters. She grew up fishing, hunting, and playing on the boy's teams in high school. She had a love of life and adventure that she never quite outgrew.
She attended Wheaton College, but graduated from Catherine Gibbs Secretarial School. In 1943, she married Hugh Schwarz and from then on spent every summer on the Vineyard, regardless of where they might have been living. For many years they were based in the Orlando/Winter Park area of Florida, but in 1983 they made the Vineyard their year-round home.
Mamise was an ardent fisherwoman, both fly and deep sea. She fell in love with Vineyard waters and spent years fishing in Vineyard and Nantucket Sounds from Devil's Bridge to Muskeget Channel in her 17-foot Boston Whaler. Mamise loved sports and played tennis and golf and sailed until past her 85th birthday. She served on the Board of Governors of the Vineyard Haven Yacht Club and worked as a volunteer at The Vineyard Nursing Association and The Martha's Vineyard Hospital. In these and her other activities, she zipped about Martha's Vineyard in her silver Camaro with the top down and became well recognized. She had a full, well-lived life and will be missed.
Mamise is survived by her husband and two children; Nancy MacMullen of Oak Bluffs and Jeffrey Schwarz and wife, Kim, of Harvard. She was predeceased by their first child, Pamela S. Clark, in 2001 after a long struggle with breast cancer. There are six grandchildren Duncan and Dawn MacMullen; Eric, Andrew and William Schwarz; and Gregory Luce of Minneapolis, Minn. There are two great grandchildren and her sister-in-law, Margot S. Weston of Vineyard Haven.
The family sends a special thank you to Mitsy Roberts, her live-in health aid during her last years.
A memorial service to honor Mamise will be held on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 3 pm at the Vineyard Assembly of God Church in Vineyard Haven. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial donations be made to The Vineyard Nursing Association, P.O. Box 399, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568, or The Martha's Vineyard Hospital, P.O. Box 1477, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557, or to a charitable organization of the donor's choice. Arrangements are under the care of Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home, Oak Bluffs.
