Mary Florence Schultz, 58, died peacefully on November 9, 2015 at George Washington Hospital in Washington, D.C. of complications from a three-year struggle with breast cancer. Mary was attended in her final days and hours by close friends Beth Paiste also William & Mary class of 1979 and Jenny Kuhlmann, and brother Vincent Schultz and his family. Mary was a vivacious individual: a loyal and devoted friend who was always ready for an adventure and usually its instigator. She had spunk and was fiercely independent. Mary never allowed a challenge to hinder her incredible positive attitude. She demonstrated this throughout her life and particularly over the last several years. Mary refused to let cancer define her, nor did she allow it to affect her joy for work or play. She met this severe challenge head on with great inner strength and fortitude.A 1979 graduate of the College of William & Mary with a B.A. in English, Mary began her career at the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, then moved to metro Washington to eventually serve in key positions in television and public policy research groups, including WNET New York, WETA Washington, D.C. and the Pew Research Group, where she managed communications for the Religion and Public Life Project. In 1991 she won first place in the 39th Annual Columbus International Film and Video Festival for work on a national press kit, and also won back-to-back first-place awards in 1993 and 1994 in the PBS National Promotion Campaign for work in advertising and promotion.Mary’s final post was as Director for Marketing & Events, for US Telecom, a trade association that represents broadband service providers. She was responsible for promoting the association’s media outreach, public events, press conferences, executive education program, and production of an annual magazine. Mary also oversaw and promoted the public appearances of US Telecom executives speaking at industry, government and Capitol Hill meetings. Drawing upon her extensive contacts in the news media, Mary arranged interviews on key issues of importance to the association. Mary enjoyed traveling and the live arts, was a voracious reader, and believed strongly in community service. She served as the current chair and board member of William & Mary’s Washington D.C. alumni chapter. She was a former secretary-treasurer and board member of the Chatham Square Homeowners Association; current chair of the association’s architectural review board; former chair of the Historical Society of Washington, D.C., City Guild; and a former board member of the National Academy of Arts and Sciences, Washington, D.C. chapter. Mary is survived by brother James S. Schultz, Jr. and his partner Donna D. Woodward; brother Vincent P. Schultz and his wife Deborah Mitchell Schultz; niece Katrina A. Graham and her husband Peter Graham; nephew Jaike A. Foley-Schultz and his wife Piper Blouin Foley-Schultz; nephews Patrick M. Schultz and Michael V. Schultz; great-nephew Cole A. Graham; great-niece Sadie A. Graham; former sister-in-law Mary Jane Foley; extended family relatives and many friends. Mary was pre-deceased by her parents, James S. Schultz, Sr., and Margaret M. Schultz.A celebration of Mary’s life will take place on Saturday, January 16, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. at the Cunningham Turch Life Celebration Home, located on 811 Cameron Street in Alexandria, Virginia. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to the William & Mary Alumni Association and/or the Cancer Research Institute. Guestbook entries can be made at https://www.cunninghamfuneralhome.net/obituary/Mary-Florence-Schultz/Alexandria-VA/1562620#sthash.4GMJCsSe.dpuf
811 Cameron St., Alexandria, VA, 22314
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I will truly miss my only sister. As siblings, we certainly had the typical sibling struggles growing up. As adults, we each had annoying habits and characteristics that would cause the other to roll their eyes. But we always had each other’s back and support. She was fiercely independent, and although her struggles were large, she never lost hope and always faced these with a steadfast determination to come out on top. She was a caring, thoughtful person who embodied the best in a person. If a life is valued by the hole one leaves when one departs, then my sister had a full life, for she has left a huge hole.
All of us – her family, her friends, her work associates – are struggling with the reality of a sudden loss of such energy, joy, and caring. I know she is in a better place – free of pain and struggle. It remains to us to soldier on without her light, her encouragement, her support. I wish you Godspeed, Mary, and may you bring that joy of life and great exuberance with you to whatever awaits you on the other side. Fare thee well, my dearest sister.
We all grieve at Mary’s passing from this life. I knew her as a kind, sensitive, funny and beautiful soul. Mary or pardon me if I say Mary Florence, the two names rolled together like the way her mother called her was only six when I left for college so she was not one of the cousins I grew up with. Years later, visiting as an out-of-towner at a family cookout, I asked another cousin, “Who is that gorgeous redhead?” Her beauty and charm were fascinating then, and again years later when she hosted Stormy and me at her Alexandria townhouse, still were. In recent years we were connected only by the occasional phone call, and only now do I know how much pain she was concealing when we talked. We will miss her tremendously. May she rest in peace.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Mary was a lovely person.
I keep thinking about how Mary would react to this attention after her passing. “Oh you guys,” she would say, embarrassed. And as usual, I would probably reply, “too bad, Mary! You’re stuck with us!”
Like all human beings, Mary had her strengths and her blind spots, but above all she was a wonderful person who was always bright and optimistic. She valued hard work, friendship, family, and laughter. Getting together with Mary over dinner and a glass of wine was one of my favorite things. Sometimes, I felt as though she saw me in her, and my successes were her successes. She cared about me in a way that meant a lot. I always wanted to impress Aunt Mary.
We were so similar in so many ways, it was eerie at times. We both were planners, and loved when things went perfectly. When things didn’t go perfectly, we could get frustrated. Neither of us knew how to slow down our active minds- always thinking, four filter setting on “low.” We were, truly, kindred spirits. Because I know her, because she was like me, I knew to also not push her on areas she didn’t want to explore. One of those areas was her illness. I learned long ago that Mary had to be who she was thoughout her cancer journey. It was her life, her choices, and she exerted her independence until the end.
We love you Aunt Mary, and I don’t care how hypothetically embarrassing you would find these sentiments to be. You are our family, a light that now leaves a big hole in our hearts, and we will never forget. We will remember. Always.
Kind and true words, Vince. Mary was so lucky to have such a wonderful brother and the rest of your family in her life.
I should clarify too how appreciative of everyone’s concern and efforts to get Mary high quality care. She mightn’t have always agreed, but when we love someone, we try as hard as we can to help. I’m so thankful for my amazing family and her good friends for being advocates for Mary along the way.
Mary was my very dear friend from high school at Saint Gertrude’s class of ’75, and she was in my wedding in 1976. Mary was a kind, encouraging, loyal friend who was also joyful, and full of life, and so funny. When a few of us Gertie gals got together with her recently it was like we were in high school again. She was as beautiful, lively, witty, and fun to be with as always. We are so thankful that we had one last fun time together. We were all so shocked when Beth called us on Nov. 10, because we had no idea what she must have been going through. The Gertie gals will always remember and always treasure our very special friendship with Mary. We are comforted to know that there is now in heaven a beautiful angel with amazing red hair watching over us.
Mary was one of my best friends at St. Gertrude High School. She was remarkably intelligent and had a great joy of life. I could always tell that Mary was destined to do great things. Mary shaped the person that I am today. I was a very shy girl at St. Gertrude but Mary was very warm and welcoming. Mary helped me to expand socially. Mary was also instrumental in helping me decide which college to attend after high school. I remember going with Mary to the College of William and Mary one weekend and visiting the campus with her brother Jimmy. It was a great weekend. After that visit I decided to go to William and Mary. Even though Mary and I both attended William and Mary we didn’t see a lot of each other during those 4 years because of our majors. However, after college Mary contacted me and we became fast friends again in Richmond. At that time she was working for the Science Museum of Virginia. However Mary was always dreaming of bigger adventures while I was more of a homebody. I had to say goodbye to Mary while she pursued her dreams. But Mary was never one to forget her life-long friends. It was Mary who brought the Gertie Gals back together again after 40 years. I am so glad that I was able to visit with Mary in September. She looked great and it was wonderful to hear about all of the adventures in her life. I feel fortunate that Mary included me as one of her friends and I will never forget the impact that Mary has had on my life. Love always!
Will never be able to express in words the huge empty space left in my life from Mary’s passing. She was a great friend to me and luckily my cousin to boot so there was so much shared history. I loved her feisty spirit and independence but underneath there was a sensitive soul that needed nurturing and assurance. I loved all of her many aspects like loving a mountain that alternately shows it’s sunlit trees and shade. And Mary was a force of nature! She always stood by me and was a strong support during good times and bad. Mary, we will always remember you in our heart of hearts and bless your on your journey. Catherine Schultz
It is with great sadness that I write. Mary was one of my first and closest friends in College. My memories of Mary remain as a beautiful, studious, lady who knew how to study in the Law Library studying as well as head to the school Pub on Wednesdays nights. The years I spent with Mary are precious to me. Heaven has gained a red haired Angel.
Vince, Jimmy, and family, Please accept my sympathy my heart goes out to you during this difficult time.
To Mary’s brothers, family, friends, fellow colleagues, and
to her loyal dedicated true sister-friends, Jenny and Noelle, I send my deepest
heartfelt condolences. In life, we come
across people that we work with, and just call them “co-workers” but when a
coworker becomes an actual friend, it is much more. Mary was a friend, just as all the others
that I had the pleasure to work with at Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly. Even
though we didn’t see eye to eye on everything … She was team Clay and I was
team Reuben for American Idol, we did share some great love for refreshing
sweet ice tea, decadent desserts, guilty pleasure television shows, and
Presidential candidates. I remembered her taking pictures of flat Stanley in
various places for her nephews, going to her housewarming, and how she was
always excited to go to her college reunions.
She was the first to say, my young daughters, are like a little version
of Malia and Sasha. When I think of words that first come to mind when I think
of her, I do think “gutsy” and of course, “strong personality”, because she has
always been a take charge – get it done kind of person. She has always been a hard worker – who takes
every detail seriously and works her magic, as only she can. Her sense of humor, cute laugh and of course
her red hair always made her stand out.
I will always remember the beam in her eyes, and the wide smile on her
face, along with our colleague Lynn when Religion and Ethics was nominated
and won awards. She was a super
cheerleader for the show. When I last spoke to her on the telephone this past
spring, I had no idea that would be our last conversation, but I will treasure
the laughs, the lunches and the memories we shared together. You are missed my friend, rest in paradise.
It’s nearly impossible to write a tribute that captures what Mary meant to me, especially when my mind is resisting that she’s truly gone. It’s unbelievable that our friend, who fought so valiantly and won so many battles, who approached her days with such spirit and grace, has been taken from us. “No, no, no! She was much too young and had much yet to give.”
My heart is breaking to no longer have this amazing,
beautiful woman, so alive and exuberant in her life, in mine. Mary was a great friend. She was always “game” to do anything – from tennis to golfing to biking, art exhibits to plays, movies to music, you name it. She lived life with passion and always seemed to find joy and fun anyplace and anywhere. She was kind and thoughtful, funny and feisty, courageous and stubborn, upbeat and inspirational.
Mary also leaves an accomplished professional legacy. She was an exceptionally talented senior publicist and communications professional. From her early days at public television station, WETA, through her current
position, Mary took great pride in her work and did an incomparable job at everything she touched. Being in similar roles, our conversations often turned to work stories. While at WETA, she was honored to work on filmmaker Ken Burns’s projects including The Civil War and Baseball, and at a recent event that we went to together for his latest film, he told her that she was the best publicist that he had ever worked with.
These last few days, I seem to see her at every turn. “Oh, we could go to this concert, or she would enjoy this PBS event,” and on-and-on I see things that Mary would be game to do. I miss her now and for all the fun times in the future that I imagine.
In life and in death, Mary is one of the bravest people that I have ever known. Her spirit will live on in the many memories and hearts that hold her close. I am grateful to know her always.
My heartfelt condolences to all of us, her many cherished friends and family, who love her, and will continue to love her, through the remainder of our days.
On a spring break 1978 trip with 4 others in a Pinto wagon,
Mary took over the driving after an unscheduled off-roading adventure on I-95 had the car in the grass facing traffic. She calmly got that car moving from a standstill and back on the road with all that weight while in third gear!
From what Beth told me and the comments here, it sounds like Mary steered through all of life’s ups and downs with that same beautiful grace that got us to the beach.
Sorry I lost touch with, as Elaine so eloquently calls her,
‘Schultzie’ the red haired angel. But I’m sure glad Mary touched my life way back when.
Curt Laub
God bless you, Mary, and thank you for your friendship, understanding and patience whenever I was a chatterbox. My thoughts are with her family at this time. I met Mary through Noelle and I am so glad that our lives crossed paths and we got to know each other. -Tanya H
I hired Mary three years ago to handle marketing & events at USTelecom and gained not only an incredibly talented, smart and creative team member, but also a trusted friend. She was such a bright spot in my day, always with a smile and laugh, and a great positive attitude and huge heart for her colleagues. It just seems like yesterday day she and I were in her office, comparing notes about things we needed to do and complaining about ailments, joking that each of us was “falling apart.” Little did I know that she was so ill and that, in fact, things were falling apart for her. She was so determined to live her life in the full; she wanted to be strong and to have fun with her friends, see new things, read new books, try recipes, shop … all the things gal pals do. She was looking forward to a trip to Australia next year, and had already planned to spend Thanksgiving with her family. She kept her eyes trained on the future, did more research than her doctors, I think, and certainty kept them on their toes, training them not to keep her waiting during visits. She refused to take sick days even when I encouraged her to rest. Most of all she didn’t want pity, and I think even now she’d want us not to be thinking how sad it is she didn’t beat her illness, but to revel in all the activities she excelled in throughout her life: volleyball, spin class, cycling, travel, civic activities, and most especially spending time with her very wide circle of friends she talked so fondly about all the time. I have a little blue smiling figurine of Cookie Monster on my desk that Mary kept with her – a reminder of her WETA days – and a guy we used to laugh about on gloomy Monday mornings. This is how I will remember Mary: smiling, enjoying the good things in life and always ready to jump into the fray.
Mary was a beautiful, high spirited, intelligent woman with unstoppable energy. I wish we had more time with her on this earth. She will be missed. My sincere condolences to her family and other friends.
Many great memories of Mary and the gang back in the day! I know she will be sorely missed by me and others who have had the pleasure of knowing her sweet disposition.
Condolences to your family. May you receive comfort from the word of God during this time of loss. The Bible’s resurrection accounts give us a sure hope. Read John 11:39-44. Revelation 21:3,4 promises that one day death, mourning, and outcry will be no more. To find out more regarding the hope for the dead visit JW.org and search “death”.
Mary was my wonderful PR colleague at WETA for so many years–I am stunned and in disbelief to think we have lost one of our own so early. She was the “darling” of our team and we all loved her very much. Blessings to her wonderful family–may her spirit live on as we move forward..
As Families tend to do, especially those that are not immediate family, we grow apart over the years. I knew Mary Florence as a cousin back in the 50’s and 60’s when we were growing up….but with the passing of time and many miles in the journey of life, we don’t stay as close. It seems we only come together at weddings and funerals. I did not know much about Mary in the later years except that she worked in my chosen profession, media. I know she will be missed by her many family members and friends and associates and can see that she certainly had a full life…which is all any of us can ever wish for. My deepest sympathy to my cousins left without their sister and pray that God above will grant her peace and comfort in a better world that waits for all of us on the other side. Life is so short…and so full of both successes and missed opportunities. God bless you Mary Florence and your family. You are missed.
I was 19 years old, a freshmen in college, when I first met Mary, who lived diagonally across the hall from me at the College of William & Mary. College was a bit overwhelming to me but for Mary, it was one of her great aspirations. She was always a goal setter, determined to put herself through school no matter what.
Schultzie, as she was affectionately nicknamed, had great plans for her life. She would tell me I was looking at the future Barbara
Walters!
Mary embraced me as she did our other gang of college friends with warmth and an eye for adventure. Schultzie was generally the one who could talk me into taking a risk and trying something new. I will always love her for that.
Schultzie was also smart and vivacious. She enjoyed connecting with people as well as bringing people together. Family and friendships were important to her and she made the effort to reach out to her friends across the years and across
the miles. Once Mary found you, you were never lost to her.
Schultzie was always upbeat and positive, never backing away from any challenge. When she called to tell me she had been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, I cried. In her typical way, Mary asked me why I was crying as cancer breakthroughs were just around the corner. She then asked me what the benefit
was to cry over something when it served no positive purpose? Instead, she chose to be positive and not allow cancer to define her in any manner. Schultzie kept her focus solely on the beauty of living.
Because of her attitude, I believe Mary had a beautiful life. She was a loyal and dedicated friend. Her band of friends is extensive and we so cherished and adored her that her absence from our lives has been devastating and still seems so surreal. My comfort comes, however, knowing that Mary never wasted a moment of life. She lived where she had always wanted to live; she had a job she loved and people in her life who loved her back with the same intensity as she did them. Schultzie lived well; she lived her life to the fullest. I will miss my beautiful, freckly face friend. She was quite a remarkable woman.
In
reading these posts, it’s been gratifying to witness how Mary affected so many
lives. I’ve read elsewhere that each human life is a unique individual symphony:
music that builds in complexity and beauty as it is performed from beginning to
end. In Mary’s case that symphony included cherished friends and family, all of
whom continue to recollect and treasure experiences shared over decades. Mary
made a life that she savored, and that she shared enthusiastically with those
closest to her. May her music always play in the hearts and minds of those who
loved Mary the most and the best.
At Thanksgiving, all of Mary’s friends from Saint Gertrude High School are thankful that we had this very special girl in our lives, even though it was for much too short a time.
This Thanksgiving day I give thanks for a bright light in my life. Mary was not only a former sister in law, she was a friend. I’ve spent most of my adult holidays in her company. Her presence enlivened and embellished those celebrations. Her birthday cards usually humorous and gifts were carefully chosen to bring delight. Mary was a wise and honest woman, who valued financial independence. There are givers and takers in this world. Mary was a giver. She recognized the value of maintaining strong friendships, and had many enduring relationships throughout her life, broadening her points of reference. She had zest to live life to the fullest she was rarely home, an interest in a variety of arts, and a strong sense of justice. Additionally, she exemplified courage. Not only did she display this courage throughout her life as a single woman, but at the end when she was in so much discomfort. Her spiritual presence in my life will endure. I miss her much.
This is a tribute to Mary’s closest friend, Jenny Weil.
Jenny stood fast by Mary emotionally/spiritually and physically throughout her adult life. She was often aware of Mary’s needs when Mary was not consciously aware herself. Jenny alone visited Mary daily during her final illness, finding nurses when they were unable to care for Mary in a timely fashion, listening to doctors and relaying information to family members. She felt honored to do so because Mary had been such an outstanding person and dedicated, loyal friend. Jenny’s husband couldn’t have seen Jenny much those last weeks, and I am grateful for his generosity as well.
Thank you.
Mary, was a very dear cousin of mine who will be missed . I like so many others had hoped she had beaten this cancer. A great person and very helpful to those that knew her..
Mary was so vibrant and warm, engaging, interested, and easy and fun to connect with! Thank you, Noelle, for introducing me to Mary. May Mary’s life be a blessing, and her spirit live on in all those who knew and loved her. She was a truly wonderful lady.
Saint Gertrude High School in Richmond was blessed to claim Mary as an alumna. Know that all of the Benedictine Sisters of Virginia and her SGHS family are holding her family and friends in our hearts and prayers. What a remarkable and full life she led in her short time on earth.
My husband Harold and I were fellow English majors with Mary at the College of William and Mary. We had many shared memories of student teaching at Lafayette High School in Williamsburg. I looked forward to seeing her at college class reunions and regret that I didn’t keep up with her between them. Mary was a bright light and we will miss her. Condolences to her close friends and family members.
A sad day indeed. It is truly inspiring to learn of Mary’s courage. I wouldn’t have expected less as she faced her illness with the same attitude that she lived her life. My thoughts and prayers are with her and her family and friends.