Mary Elizabeth Schaffert

Mary Elizabeth Schaffert, 82, was born at home in Frontier County in 1942 to Sylvia Devona (Poteet) Schaffert and Edwin Waldemar Schaffert, and died September 21, 2025. In 1949, the family moved to the farm southeast of Curtis, NE, which was "home" no matter where she lived.
She attended country schools or was home-schooled until sixth grade, when she went to Curtis Public School. She graduated from UNSA in Curtis in 1960, and got her 2-year teaching certificate from Kearney State College. She taught kindergarten and music at Curtis Public School for a year. She went back to Kearney State, where she became interested in the Civil Rights movement, and helped register black voters in Mississippi.
She worked at Sunset Haven Nursing Home in Curtis, then was a dispatcher at the Frontier County Sheriff's Office for 25 years, as well as working the family farm with her sister, Nancy.
As her health declined, Mary moved to Lincoln and lived with her daughter, Shoshana, for two years, coming back to the farm frequently, and stayed with her sister on the farm for 3 months this summer.
In August 2025, she moved to assisted living at the Bickford of Lincoln, where she died.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Ed and Sylvia Schaffert.
Mary is survived by her daughter, Shoshana Sumrall, and her sister, Nancy Schaffert, cousins and many dear friends, as well as her cherished cat, Locket.
Services will be Friday, September 26, at 2:00 pm at the Stockville Church with burial to follow in the Curtis cemetery.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be directed to the McCook Animal Shelter. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Mary Elizabeth Schaffert, please visit our floral store.