Schermerhorn, John and Mary Memorial Scholarship Fund

Donor Fund Story:

Mary Amelia Schermerhorn, 89, of rural Wawaka died on Tuesday, September 22, 2009, at the North Ridge Village Nursing & Rehab Center in Albion. Mrs. Schermerhorn was born in Cassopolis, Michigan, on August 1, 1920, to the late George W. and Emma (Brouse) Gilbert. She graduated from Wawaka High School in 1939 and attended Goshen College. She married John H. Schermerhorn on Dec. 4, 1939, at her parents’ farm home in Elkhart Township, Noble County.

She was a homemaker and farm wife assisting her husband on the family farm north of Brimfield. She was a member of the Brimfield United Methodist Church where she was active as a Sunday school teacher for many years and she was also a member of the United Methodist Women. Mrs. Schermerhorn was a nurses’ aide at McCray Hospital in Kendallville in the late 1950s. She was a member of the Orange Township Homemaker’s Club for over 50 years and served as the Noble County Homemakers president in 1965-66. She was active in the Noble County Republican Women’s Organization. Mrs. Schermerhorn enjoyed hosting events and entertaining at their home. She was an avid supporter and campaign advocate for her husband’s political career as Noble County commissioner spanning 24 years. She was an excellent cook, enjoyed playing cards, and loved spending time with her family.

John “Stub” Schermerhorn, died the first day of spring at the age of 88. He was a true Hoosier, having lived his entire life on his family’s Noble County farm. His grandfather, a civil war veteran, first carved the family homestead in the 19th century, out of marshlands between Rome City and Wawaka. Like his father and grandfather, Schermerhorn was a farmer, but he was also a politician, a community leader and a friend to many. Most of all, he left a legacy as a husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather to a large family that cherished their home with him. He was remembered as a man who was always ready to share some of his homespun Hoosier values and advice.

Schermerhorn’s life took a lot of interesting twists and turns for a man who lived out among the soybeans and cornfields. The focal point of his life were the 67 years spent with his loving wife, Mary, raising their five children, who went on to give their parents a large brood of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They had 19 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren. While farming was in his blood, John also donated much of his time, and wisdom, to various community causes. He helped run the Noble County Fair for many years and served as chairman of the board for that annual event. He served multiple terms on the Noble County Council as well as the Noble County Board of Commissioners. He was active in his church and his community but somehow always managed to find time for his wife and family, in addition to keeping his family farm afloat. He was perhaps one of Noble County’s truest Republicians and was never shy about telling his grandchildren how to vote. “Stub” spent a lot of time in the great outdoors hunting, trapping and fishing and he passed along a lot of his knowledge to the second and third generations of his family.