Shirley Dean Schmitt

Shirley Dean Schmitt
Our beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother Shirley D. Schmitt (nee Sanderson) graduated from her earthly life to her promised eternal life with Our Lord on November 16, 2025 at the age of 97. She was the beloved wife of the late John (Jack) Schmitt for 32 years, and the cherished mother of Mark A. Schmitt (Marianne), John W. Schmitt Jr. (Cheryl), Lorraine A. Dykstra (Louis), Eric J. Schmitt (Terry) and Paul D. Schmitt. She was the nut cracker collecting, advice-giving, and uncompromising loving, interested, and supportive grandmother to Patricia, Kathryn, Mark Jr., Michael, Stacie, Shaun, Stephen, Thomas, Gretchen, Matthew, Caroline, Brandon, and Rachel, and great-grandmother to Mallory, Jillian, Matthew, Cody, Caleb, Colter, Jessica, Payton, Michael, Daniel, Ethan, Carter, Sophie, Noah, Jack, Robert, William, and Vera. Shirley is also survived by her loving sister, Ellen Oakley of Berea, OH. Shirley was preceded in death by her parents Russell and Louise Sanderson, and brother Russell Sanderson II.
Shirley was born and raised in Berea, Ohio. Upon marriage, she and Jack started and raised their young family of five in the Cleveland West Park area. Whether it was ice skating, swimming in the quarries, day-long explorations in the Metro Parks, exploring her own Ohio or her children's home states, or even explaining how to skin a squirrel, Shirley 's commitment and caring love for her husband and providing education and life opportunities for her children were always her priority in life – next to her devout Catholic faith and her unquestionable relationship with Jesus Christ. From her marriage onward she was a member of Our Lady of Angles Parish and heavily involved with the Third Order of St. Francis and the OLA Ladies Guild in addition to volunteering in the school library. In the middle years of her adult life, Shirley enrolled in the Lakewood School of nursing, graduated as a Licensed Practical Nurse and had a long career in nursing at both St. John's Hospital (Cleveland) and later at St. John's Westshore (Westlake).
Shirley will always be remembered as a woman of strong faith, strong character, strong opinions, a phenomenal (German) cook, an avid reader, a lover of history of WWII / Civil War / indigenous American Indians, her beloved Cleveland Guardians and Cleveland Browns, and her love and appreciation of people she met anywhere and the ethnic diversity they represented and shared with her.
She was extremely grateful in all her years but especially the later years, for the precious and close ties and relationships with all the members of hers' and Jack's families from the youngest great grandchildren to the many special, caring and loving nieces and nephews who called her 'Aunt Shirley'. They each and all were main reasons she enjoyed a wonderful, purposeful, and fulfilling life for ninety-seven years.
A Funeral Mass will be held at Our Lady of Angels Church,3644 Rocky River Drive, Cleveland, OH on Friday,
November 21st at 11:00am. Interment Holy Cross Cemetery. Friends may call in the McGorray-Hanna Funeral Home of Westlake, 25620 Center Ridge Road, on Friday from 9:30-10:30 a.m.