Suzanne Schmidt, of Sandy Spring, Maryland, and formerly of Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia, and Rock Springs, died Friday, April 24, 2026, at the MedStar Montgomery Medical Center in Olney, Maryland. She was 83.
Suzanne was born March 1, 1943, in Denhoff, North Dakota, to the late Ferdinand and the late Susanna (Gross) Schmidt. She grew up on a farm near Denhoff, and graduated from high school there.
She received a bachelor’s degree in education from Northwest Nazarene University in 1964 and later earned a master’s degree in education from the University of North Dakota.
Between 1964 and 1990, she taught grade school in Washington state and Oregon and served as a special education teacher in North Dakota and in Winston, Oregon. She served as a second language education coordinator and teacher trainer in the Philippines as a Peace Corps volunteer from 1968 to 1971.
From 1990 to 1991, she served as a union organizer for the Oregon Education Association. From 1991 until her retirement in 2009, she served as teacher representative for the Wyoming Education Association, based in Rock Springs.
After retiring, she moved to Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia to be close to family on the East Coast. She was active in the community there, serving on the Planning Commission, as an officer in the Women’s Club, and as a hospice volunteer.
In 2021, she moved to the Friends House retirement community in Sandy Spring, Maryland.
Suzanne enjoyed camping and spending time on the Oregon coast. She loved to travel and was involved in People to People International in her early retirement, allowing her to travel to Cuba and other countries.
She is preceded in death by her parents, by sisters Evelyn Gross and Jeanette Clark, and by brothers, Robert, Ferdinand Jr., and Sidney.
She is survived by nieces Jeran Paul of Depoe Bay, Oregon; and Twila Gross and partner Antwone White of Crystal, Minnesota; and nephews, Gerald “Jay” Clark Jr. and wife Teresa of Mesa, Arizona; Grant Gross and wife Elizabeth “Lisa” Cobb of Laurel, Maryland; and Justin Clark, of Glendale, Oregon.
A Memorial Service will be held at Cedar Ridge Community Church, 2410 Spencerville Rd. in Spencerville, MD, on Thursday, May 21 at 7 p.m. A live Zoom stream of the service will be available.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Heifer International or the Montgomery County Humane Society.
