Constance Marie Schulte

Constance Schulte of Concord, CA, was born during a North Dakota blizzard, the oldest child of the late Beatrice (Nopp) Gabriel and Ray Gabriel. By the age of 12 she was in charge of her siblings, while her now-single mother worked long hours to support them. The family moved several times to several different states, eventually settling down in Bremerton, WA, where she graduated from Bremerton High School and began attending Olympic College as an art major, while holding down a job as a portrait colorist in Seattle. During her commutes across Puget Sound on the ferry, she was constantly sketching, and would often sell her pictures to people who saw her working.

At Olympic College, she met the love of her life, Anthony "Tony" Schulte. They were married in 1958, and she went to work at Boeing, on the then-top-secret DynaSoar project. When she became pregnant with her first child, Dianna, she was forced to quit that job, and before long there was a second child, Teresa. Julie came along after the family moved to California.

She continued coloring portraits, and worked as a commercial artist. She also illustrated "Common Seashore Life of the Pacific Northwest" by Lynwood Smith, who had been her professor.

Despite her own rocky beginnings, she put her whole heart into being a devoted and thoughtful and dedicated mother, always striving to do things in the very best way. She gave her children the best possible childhood, with an optimal mix of challenge and nurturing.

She returned to college at California State University at Hayward, relying on Tony's devoted support to pursue her dream of becoming a teacher, and through the years, she taught art, history, science, and technology at the Seven Hills School, Buena Vista School, and Walnut Creek Intermediate, lovingly and creatively mentoring her students until retirement, and creating a great legacy of education.

In the late 70's a series of catastrophic health crises hit most members of the family, and her life was upended. She did the best anyone could, relying on friends and family and her Church community for support, as she became, for a time, the sole breadwinner for the family.

When Tony became sick again and died in 1987, she was with him till the end, and was his pillar of strength.

She was endlessly creative. One time she was driving down a dark deserted road through woods with two small children in the car, when a fan belt broke. She peered under the hood, figured out what was wrong, then took off her stockings - it was the mid-60's, after all - and tied them in a loop to make a temporary fix for the fan belt. (Her very automotive in-laws were astonished!)

She loved to do a deep dive into diverse subjects from Egyptology to arts and crafts. At various times she focused on needlepoint, candle-making, leatherwork, silk screened prints, and lost-wax jewelry-making. But always she painted and sewed; her children came to associate the hum of the sewing machine with her abundant love, whether she was making a child's dress that would be worn down for generations, or was clothing an entire wedding party, including not just the bride and bridesmaids, but even the groomsmen, in medieval garb.

She knew her own mind, and always rose to a challenge. Once she took a Spanish class at Diablo Valley College, and her professor spent a noticeable portion of class time trying to convert his students to Mormonism. She spoke to him about this, and he challenged her to read the Book of Mormon. So she did. In Spanish! (No, she did not convert!)

In her middle age, she became an avid bicyclist, pedaling to the summit of Mt. Diablo, and adventuring on her bike in Death Valley and on multiple long road trips. She also became a leader in the local Macintosh Computer User's Group.

Later, Teresa invited her to join the Society for Creative Anachronism, which she did with gusto. She was known as Constance Lymnour, and received several awards for her delightful whimsical illuminations. Her identity as Constance Lymnour became so important to her that by the time she moved to a retirement home, she was introducing herself to the mundane world as Constance, instead of Connie.

She is sorely missed by her daughters Dianna Schulte McMenamin and husband Mark McMenamin, and Julie Morgan; and also by grandchildren Sarah McMenamin and husband Andrew Wagner; John Foster; Amy McMenamin and husband Anthony Tsamboukos; Ariel Silva and wife Miranda Silva, Morgan McCartney; Samantha Morgan, and Nicholas Morgan; as well as great-grandchildren Gavin, Miles, Ada, Jules, Nasir, and Joy; and uncountable numbers of students. She is predeceased by her parents, her beloved husband Tony Schulte, her daughter Teresa McCartney, and her brother Gary Gabriel.

A funeral Mass will be held at St. Ignatius of Antioch Church in Antioch, CA, at 10:30 AM on December 11. Flowers may be sent to St. Ignatius of Antioch church, and/or donations to the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano. Go to https://www.foodbankccs.org (https://www.foodbankccs.org), and click "Ways to Give."