VIVIAN GOODRICH SCHMIDT

1935 - 2016

VIVIAN GOODRICH SCHMIDT, 80, of Bartlesville, Okla., died Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016, of natural causes. Born Oct. 14, 1935, in East Orange, N.J. (with her identical twin sister, Mary), she was a daughter of Laurence B. and Lois S. Goodrich. She graduated from Oneonta (NY) High School in 1952 and received a B.S. in Science Education from Cornell University in 1956 and an M.S. in 1959. Vivian married William "Bill" J. Schmidt Jr. of Westwood, N.J. on Sept. 8, 1956, in Oneonta, N.Y. Their first home was in Petersburg, Va. where Bill was stationed at Fort Lee. Vivian taught elementary school in Matoaca, Va. for one year until they moved back to Ithaca, N.Y. to pursue advanced degrees. In 1959, Vivian and Bill moved to Warren, Ohio, where she taught high school biology and physical science. In 1960, they moved to Fort Wayne where they began their family. Long interested in government and politics, Vivian joined the League of Women Voters in 1965 and was a member in Fort Wayne, St. Louis, Mo. and Bartlesville, Okla. In Fort Wayne, she learned about government and serving the public, and developed the confidence to run for public office. In 1971, she became the second woman to be elected to the Fort Wayne City Council. In 1980, she was elected by her peers to serve as Council President. She served as Councilwoman-at-Large for 10 years, until she and Bill moved to St. Louis in 1982. Vivian was then appointed by Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan to chair the St. Louis County Board of Election Commissioners, an office she held until 2000. In 2001, Vivian and Bill moved to Bartlesville to be closer to their son, daughter-in-law and infant grandson. Vivian was appointed in 2003 as Democratic Party representative to the Board of Election Commissioners of Washington County, Okla. She also served four year terms on the Bartlesville Board of Adjustment and Metropolitan Area Planning Commission. Vivian was delighted with the increasing number of women elected to the U.S. Congress and worked for many years to encourage and help women run for elected office. She was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Colonial Estates Homeowners Association and wrote its newsletter from 2002 to 2009. Vivian's life was active and filled with service to others. She loved her family, her dogs and calico cats, her award-winning garden, traveling the world, politics, and books: especially biographies of founding Americans and American history. She contributed to organizations working to save the planet, in particular the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club. Vivian also donated to the League of Women Voters and the Unitarian-Universalist Church. Survivors include her husband, William J. Schmidt Jr. of the home; daughter, Elizabeth Schmidt Hine, DVM and son-in-law, Steven S. Hine; granddaughter, Catherine Lois of Bartlesville; son, William J. Schmidt III and daughter-in-law, Tina Trotter Schmidt; grandson, Charles William of Fulshear, Texas; niece, Margaret Leggitt Atzeni; great-niece, Laura Elizabeth of Red Oak, Texas; nephew, Richard I. (Teresa) Leggitt and daughter Marissa of Milpitas, Calif.; great-nephew, John L. Griffin-Leggitt of Missoula, Mont. Vivian was preceded in death by her parents and twin sister, Mary Goodrich Leggitt. Memorial service is 2 p.m. Saturday, March 12, 2016, at Unitarian Universalist Church of Bartlesville, 428 S. Seneca Ave. Jason Elmore officiating. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the aforementioned organizations, the Animal Rescue Foundation of Bartlesville, or the Washington County S.P.C.A. Arrangements by Arnold Moore & Neekamp Funeral Home. Online condolences may be left at www.honoringmemories.com