Obituary: Mae Schmidle, of Newtown

NEWTOWN, CT — Mae Schmidle, who many called the "Spirit of Newtown," passed away at her home on Friday, April 26, surrounded by family and friends. A familiar figure around Newtown, who always dressed in red, "she was as dynamic as she was diligent in given her enthusiastic efforts to the causes she espoused," her death notice read.

Born in Bridgeport in 1926, she married her husband, Robert, and lived briefly in Trumbull before moving to Newtown in the early 60s. Together, they raised two sons, Robert Jr. and Paul, and a daughter, Lisa.

After serving with the Newtown PTA , and later as president of the Connecticut State PTA, Schmidle was elected to the first of her four terms as town clerk. In 1981, she was elected state representative for the 106th Assembly District in which she served five terms.

During her years in the Assembly she will be remembered for her advocacy on behalf of the historic flagpole, first erected in 1876, the centennial celebration of the nation’s independence. When the state sought to remove it, she fought tenaciously and successfully for it to remain. As representative, she also initiated the Aquifer Protection Act guaranteeing the protection of the town’s ground water. She served as president of the state’s Northeast Dairy Compact and the National Resource Council among others.

"From preschoolers, for whom she guided the Children’s Adventure Center, to senior citizens, in her championing of the Newtown Visiting Nurse Association, her legacy of love for Newtown and its people will be everlasting.

"Throughout her long and fruitful life she had much love to give — first, to her husband Robert, her son Robert Jr. and his wife Pamela, her son Paul and his wife Wendy, her daughter Lisa and her husband Rob Keller," her death notice read. She is also survived by their children and in-laws, Nicholas and his wife Rikki, Christian and his wife Jen, Heather and her fiancé Chris, and Hillary Schmidle and Baxter and Clayton Keller, in addition to four great-grandsons, Oscar and Bohan and Charlie and Theo.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in St. Rose of Lima Church, Newtown Tuesday April 30 at 12:00 p.m. Interment will follow in Newtown Village Cemetery. Friends may call at the Honan Funeral Home, 58 Main Street, Newtown Monday April 29 from 4 to 7 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, contributions to the Newtown Visiting Nurse Association, 45 Main St., Newtown, CT 06470 will be appreciated.