Obituary of Sylvia Schmieding

Sylvia SchmiedingA memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. March 15 at the First Congregational Church in Eugene for Sylvia May Schmieding of Eugene, who died March 2 of heart failure. She was 82. Visitation will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday at Musgrove Family Mortuary in Eugene.She was born March 21, 1927, in Ocean Falls, B.C., to Joseph and Elsie Oram Jenkins. She married Donald Schmieding on Oct. 31, 1957, in Eugene. He died May 23, 2002.She attended Willamette University for three years. She was a homemaker and worked as a social science research interviewer for the University of Michigan.Survivors include a son, Samuel of Eugene; a daughter, Molly Schmieding-Chavez of Ukiah, Calif.; a sister, Vivienne Anderson of Molalla; and one grandchild.Burial will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Rest-Lawn Memorial Park in Eugene. Remembrances to Lane ShelterCare or the First Congregational Church.Sylvia M. Schmieding, 82, of Eugene, mother, friend, passed away Tuesday, March 2, at the Green Valley Rehabilitation Center in Eugene from heart failure. She was born March 21, 1927 in Ocean Falls, British Columbia, Canada, a mill town on the inland water route to Alaska. One of two children born to Joseph and Elsie (Oram) Jenkins. The family moved to Oregon City in 1937 with Sylvia graduating from Oregon City High School in 1944, followed by three years at Willamette University in Salem. Sylvia moved to Eugene in 1955, meeting Donald Schmieding the following year, with the two marrying in October 1957. They had a rich and interesting life together until Don's passing in 2002, raising a son and a daughter, traveling extensively in North America, Europe, and Asia, enjoying involvement in two church communities, and taking part in many volunteer activities and charities. Sylvia also adopted her husband's school, the University of Oregon, with great fervor, taking a part in the Friendship Foundation for International Students for thirty years, and becoming an ardent fan of Oregon athletics -- especially football, basketball, and track and field. She had a great passion for music, first as a big band swing dancer in the 1940s and 1950s, and after thorough involvement with the Eugene Symphony and attendance at the Emerald City Jazz Kings concerts. Although primarily a homemaker, she also worked many years as a social science research interviewer for the University of Michigan. Sylvia was a wonderful person who embraced life with tremendous vigor and she will be greatly missed. She is survived by her son, Samuel Schmieding of Eugene; daughter, Molly Schmieding -- Chavez of Ukiah, CA; and sister, Vivienne Anderson of Mollala, OR. Arrangements are being made through the Musgrove Family Mortuary. There will be a viewing from 5-7 p.m., Monday, March 8, a graveside service at 2 p.m., March 9, at Rest Haven Memorial Park, and a "Celebration of Life" memorial at 2 p.m., March 15, at the First Congregation Church.