Obituary of Frances Elaine Schuler

Frances Schuler, our beloved mother, passed away December 9, 2020.   Mom was born in the Dust Bowl era during the Great Depression on a cotton farm near Slaton, Texas.  Mom's family did their part during World War II, collecting scrap metal and helping to pick cotton.  Her family rationed everything that might be needed for the soldiers, including chocolate and sugar.  Her grandmother Jones was an expert seamstress in Slaton during that time and was a great influence in her life; teaching mom how to cook and sew.  

 

Sadly, mom lost two wonderful step-fathers during her childhood.  She played the violin in Jr. High and High School and was a Girl Scout and Rainbow Girl.  She attended San Angelo Junior College and then transferred to Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, majoring in Secretarial Administration.  That year she met the love of her life, Robert Schuler, a Navy veteran who served in Japan during the Korean War.  They would go on to marry and raise three children together.  

 

Dad had lived in Oregon during high school and wanted to move his family to Oregon to leave behind the sand storms and tornadoes.

Mom remembered one day pointing to a picture and telling dad, "I want to go to that exact place when we get to Oregon" and dad promising that he would make it happen.  That place was Crown Point.   Our family fell in love with Oregon when we arrived.

 

We had never seen a place more beautiful and we spent every weekend driving all over Oregon.  Mom would pack pimento cheese sandwiches in a Tupperware keeper and bring a thermos of coffee and a thermos of Kool-Aid.  We would often stop and fish along beautiful Gales Creek between Tillamook and Forest Grove.  We especially loved the Oregon Coast and going up to Mt Hood.  

 

Mom would tell us stories about how she and dad discovered spaghetti when they moved to Oregon, along with many other new foods.

Our fondest memories include mom's love for Applets & Cotlets and how much she loved eating scones with jam at the Oregon State Fair.

We remember how we could not leave the fair without seeing the Big Pig, the old sturgeon, the art barn, and riding the Matterhorn roller coaster.  Mom also loved going to the Salem Summer Art Fair at Bush Park each year.

 

Mom was completely devoted to our father and they stayed married 47 years until our dad passed away.  As children we remember songs playing on the car radio and how mom would place her arm around our dad and dedicate songs to him, such as "My Prayer" by the Platters.

 

Mom was always thankful that dad moved us to Oregon.  She was a wonderful homemaker and took great pride in taking care of her home and family.  She had life-long friends that she treasured.  She was an avid reader and loved to travel.  She and dad were hobby genealogists and often corresponded with extended family across the U.S. and Switzerland.

 

For many years, our mom worked in commercial sewing and interior design, and she frequently donated her sewing skills to the local high school theatres.  The daughter of a talented carpenter and artist, there was little mom could not build, reupholster, paint, stain, or wire together.

 

When her children were still at home, our mom sewed much of our clothing and canned the foods we ate in winter. Her yard continued to be a source of great joy throughout her long life.  During this time of COVID, mom reflected on her experience of living through the polio epidemic and enduring several years of isolation before a vaccine was discovered.

 

Our mom is survived by several siblings, as well as her three children, Patti, Jeff, and Kathy, and five grandchildren. She was very much loved and will be missed. Both mom and dad have been laid to rest at Willamette National Cemetery.  Graveside services will be postponed until later in 2021.  In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Oregon Food Bank.

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