Doris S. Schwab

Doris Schwab was hard to say no to when she showed up in the boardroom of local businesses dressed in her homemade Christmas Tree outfit to make a funding pitch to help senior citizens.
A groundbreaker as a top female executive in the early 1970's, she started the world's first senior citizen Girl Scout Troop and the Senior Olympics in Cleveland - and was proudest of times when she was able to convince seniors who had "given up on life" and were left alone in their rooms with the shades drawn to rejoin the community.
She helped establish centers that served more than 3,000 senior citizens annually in the Old Brooklyn community.
Mrs. Schwab, 92, died peacefully Saturday April 5 at Ganzhorn Suites in Avon.
She was born Oct. 21, 1932 in Louisville, Kentucky. As a child, living through the tragedies of the Great Depression, World War II and 1939 Great Flood that submerged more than two-thirds of her hometown, Doris chose optimism.
Her life's work was shaped by two childhood experiences. At age 7, her mother died and Doris spent two years living with her grandparents, inspiring in her a love for working with the elderly. And her stepmother encouraged her to join the Girl Scouts at age 12, where she would later become a leader and take the first steps toward a lifetime of service to her community.
As a teenager, Doris would meet and fall in love with Fred Schwab, the son of her Sunday School teacher. Their dates included going to basketball games between Kentucky and Vanderbilt, where Fred would graduate and become a research chemist. They married and moved to Parma Heights, where they would raise three children.
Doris was a leader with her daughters' Girl Scout troops and then vice-president of the Lake Erie Girl Scout Council. In 1969, she organized senior citizen Girl Scout Troop A, the first such troop in the world. Members laughed that they didn't need insurance because they were covered by Medicare. Not satisfied with a single success, a year later she helped organize Troops B and C and one of her senior troop members stumped the
"To Tell The Truth" panel on national television.
Recruited by the Cleveland Jaycees to become activities director at the Crestview Apartments in Old Brooklyn, she said she would help out for three months. She stayed for 30 years.
She coaxed sometimes-reluctant shut-in residents to go on "mystery trips," dress up for the annual luau and compete in the Senior Olympics. She was known for leading seniors in the chant of "Hip, Hip, Hooray!" during times of celebration - and she always found a reason to celebrate. When things were going well, seniors would attribute it to her, saying, "It's a Doris Day."
In 1971, she established the Crestview Senior Center and became Executive Director of its parent organization, Senior Citizen Resources, Inc. Its mission was to enhance continued independent living and promote quality of life for seniors in the Old Brooklyn community with programs that included focus on health and welfare. She piloted new sites including the Brighton Center (1978), and Deaconess-Krafft (1979) on the Deaconess Hospital Campus. She worked with Deaconess Hospital and MetroHealth Medical Center to start their programs serving senior citizens. And she helped secure funding for the renovation and construction of the Memphis Fulton Senior Center and administration offices of Senior Citizen Resources, Inc. - later named The Schwab Center.
In 1976, Doris became the first woman to be made an honorary member of the Cleveland Jaycees. An extraordinary fundraiser, she was known for her trademark Christmas Tree and Easter Bunny outfits, as well as embracing creative marketing, like the 2002 United Way ad that featured a smiling senior citizen under the headline: "Frank Couldn't Be Happier To Be Off His Rocker."
In 2002, she was honored in the Ohio House of Representatives after 30 years as Executive Director of Senior Citizen Resources, Inc. That day, Dennis Kucinich spoke of her generosity, intelligence and unselfish dedication as he praised Doris's "unwavering commitment to Cleveland's senior community."
She also carried an unwavering commitment to her family, showing up always for Gary's basketball and baseball games, and for daughters Becky and Carol in Girl Scouts and at band performances.
Later, she extended that enthusiastic support to her children's spouses, then her grandchildren, and particularly relished hosting the entire extended family at Christmas, a holiday she was determined to make last as much of the year as possible.
Fred was a realist; Doris, a dreamer. Together, they traveled the world, loved their children and grandchildren and, side by side, celebrated 42 years of marriage.
When Fred died suddenly in 1993, Doris soon after noticed a light bulb going off and on. She found comfort the next three decades whenever she noticed lights unexpectedly flashing, taking that as a personal sign from Fred that he would be waiting for her.
She is survived by brother Jim Surbeck of Frankfort, Kentucky; daughters Becky Moldaver (Simon) and Carol Klun (Bill), both of Cleveland; and son Gary (Helen), of Charlotte, N.C.; and grandchildren Jesse and Kate Schwab and Michael and Nathan Moldaver.
Visitation will be held from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday, April 9 at Busch Funeral Home, 4334 Pearl Road, Cleveland, Ohio, 44109.
A Celebration of Life Service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday April 10 at Brooklyn Heights United Church of Christ, 2005 W Schaaf Road.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Senior Citizen Resources, Inc, 3100 Devonshire Road, Cleveland, OH 44109 or the James W. Campbell, MD Endowment in Geriatric Medicine through The MetroHealth Foundation https://www.metrohealth.org/foundation/endowments.
Busch Family Funeral Chapels is handling the arrangements.
216.741.7700 www.buschcares.com