Charrel Shumanis

Charrel (née Robinson) Shumanis, 82, a 30-year resident of Potomac, MD, and a 12-year resident of The Villages, FL, passed away on May 4, 2025, after a life richly lived in service to the community. Known for her elegance and friendly personality, Charrel touched so many lives through her distinguished career in nursing and through her volunteering during her retirement.

Born in Parkersburg, WV, in 1943, Charrel knew from a young age that she wanted to be a nurse. She graduated from St. Joseph's School of Nursing in Parkersburg, WV, in 1964 and initially worked as a school nurse. She then took time off from her career to devote herself full-time to raising her two children, David and Nichole.

In the late 1980s, Charrel returned to nursing, working initially as a medical-surgical nurse at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Rockville, MD. She left the hard floors of the hospital to work as a nurse for the health center located within the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in Bethesda, MD, where she provided CPSC's 350 employees with monthly education and screening programs, physical exams, immunizations, and emergency health care. She held a similar role at the Department of Health and Human Services' Division of Federal and Occupational Health (FOH) in Washington, DC, where she served 3,000 employees.

In 1994, Charrel earned her Certification in Occupational Health Nursing. She then became an "executive nurse" as her adoring husband John proudly referred to her. Employed by FOH, Charrel was responsible for the operational oversight of the clinical services offered through 200 FOH health centers nationwide. She was also a member of the National Tuberculosis Task Force; in that role, she conceived and developed an educational guide for FOH employees regarding TB in the workplace. Charrel ended her distinguished career in occupational health nursing at the National Guard Bureau in Arlington, VA, in 2006.

During her retirement, Charrel was an active volunteer who sought to bring comfort to others. For many years she facilitated a bereavement support group, and with the help of her trained therapy dog, she brought joy and solace to seniors in palliative care and hospice.

Charrel pursued many hobbies, all of which drew on her artistic talents. She was an accomplished pianist; a successful gardener; a fine cook and baker; and a talented seamstress, crocheter, and award-winning quilter. She was a devoted dog mom to Penny, Buffy, Koby, Nick and Todd, the latter of whom she named after a pediatric patient from her days as a student nurse. She also delighted in attending her grandchildren's various recitals and sports competitions.

Charrel was vivacious and energetic and well-liked by those who had the pleasure of interacting with her. Alzheimer's Disease robbed her of the last years of her life, and her family has grieved as she slipped away these past years. Charrel is survived by her two sisters, Garnet Robinson of The Villages, FL, and Marilyn Robinson of Parkersburg, WV; her two children, David Shumanis of Ft. Lauderdale, FL and Nichole Rowles of Tiburon, CA; and her three grandchildren, Bryn, Luke, and Sara. She was preceded in death by her husband of 43 years, John Shumanis.

Charrel will be laid to rest at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, on August 22, 2025. You can honor her memory by listening to Elvis Presley and eating a burger and drinking a Coke, preferably from a glass bottle. The family very much appreciates any donation to the Alzheimer's Association (alz.org).