Shirley Schumacher

Schumacher (Spitler), Shirley Joan

Shirley Joan (Spitler) Schumacher

Shirley was born on November 16, 1935 to Chester and Ruth (Haney) Spitler near West Milton in Miami County. She was a charter member of the Milton-Union High School Honor Society. She was selected by her classmates to be Senior Class President and Homecoming Queen.

She longed to be a nurse and was surprised by members from the University of Cincinnati granting her a full working scholarship to the University of Cincinnati's School of Nursing. She accepted and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1957 as a RN.

Shirley married James Schumacher immediately after graduating from college in 1957. They spent three years moving from Florida, to Texas, Virginia, and North Carolina while James served as a Marine Corps Officer. Her son, Gregory, was born in 1959 at Quantico, Virginia. Returning to West Milton, David, was born 1960. She planned to have a girl and Jill was born in 1966. She applied to be a Dayton school nurse in 1970, and was immediately accepted.

Shirley, BS, RN, was a Dayton Public School Nurse from 1970 to 1996. She worked with Project Follow Through, providing needy children extra support and tools to succeed in their education. She often made home visits as a school nurse to ensure a child's safety and council for their improvement. Shirley achieved her Master's Degree in School Counseling (MSC) from the University of Dayton, in 1987. She was noticed for her service and was invited to be a part of the initial Dayton Schools Intervention Team. She wrote the first manual for the program. She was requested to respond to any Dayton school when a youth died by accident or suicide, to help students cope with loss. She was accepted by all and respected as a helpful medical resource and mentor for the community she served. She retired in 1996 and survived a cancer removal in 1999.

In retirement, Shirley enjoyed visiting her sons and daughter and their 8 grandchildren and taking numerous cruises with Jim, crossing off items from her bucket list including visiting the Rome Coliseum, the Panama Canal, Hawaiian Islands, and the fading glaciers in Alaska.



Shirley is survived by her husband, Jim, her sons, Greg (Joanne) Zebulon, NC, Dr David (Brenda), Springboro, OH, and daughter, Jill (James Galante), Lattingtown, NY. She will be greatly missed by her loving grandchildren, Heidi (Steven Preddy), Clay (Justine), Taylor, Torie, Blaire, Cassi, James, and Claire and her great grandchildren, Evelyn, and Letti. She also leaves behind her sister, Joyce Anderson and her children, and other area relatives.

Shirley passed away on November 2,2025 with Hospice at StoryPoint West Milton Residence. She was an active member of West Milton United Church of Christ before illness. A celebration of Shirley's life will be held from 2-4 PM on Sunday, November 16, 2025 at the Hale House Event Center, 320 N. Miami St, West Milton. Arrangements are in care of Hale-Sarver Family Funeral Home, West Milton. Memorial contributions may be made to the Milton-Union Alumni Association. Online memories of Shirley may be left for the family at www.hale-sarver.com.

A special thanks to West Milton StoryPoint Residency Staff and Day City Hospice.