Pearl J Allen Schuler

Pearl J Allen Schuler, 101, of King City Senior Village passed away on Sunday, November 12, 2017. Blessed with a long, full and healthy life, Pearl raised three children, held a variety of jobs and outlived three husbands. With an email account into her nineties, always the first one to exercise class and chorale practice, Trailblazer stats at the ready (she spent her 100th birthday sitting behind the Blazer bench at a game), Pearl remained independent, informed and engaged in life to the end.

Pearl J Wood was born at home on April 4, 1916 in Duluth Minnesota to Medford and Hannah Wood and spoke of a happy childhood with family and friends ice skating, swimming, fishing and canoeing. After graduation from Central high school in 1934 with top grades but unable to go to college because of the Depression, Pearl attended business college and worked first as a switchboard operator for two local newspapers and later for two other companies. In 1943 Pearl moved with friends to Portland during WWII to work for Oregon Ship on Swan Island where she worked in the first aid station as a claims processor. Here she met her first husband John Whitmore and they had a son Ronald.

John died when Ron was 10 months old, Pearl went to work for an insurance company, and friends introduced her to Frank William Allen. They married in 1948 and had two daughters Barbara and Patti. Pearl and Frank were devoted parents and Pearl was a gifted craftswoman and seamstress resulting in “best dressed” daughters, bridesmaids and cheer leader outfits (often making 3 or 4 extras for others), prom dresses, a 40-piece tailored suit dress, doll clothes, home décor and Christmas decorations. There was knitting, crocheting, embroidery, cross stitch, quilting, macramé, ceramics, candle making, and growing bonsais—she did it all and held jobs outside of the home as well. Pearl often said these years with her family were the best years of her life. After 36 years of marriage, Frank passed away in 1984.

Quiet and shy, Pearl loved romance as verified by her movie collection and hundreds of novels read on the subject. She had a final love story of her own. Reunited after 40 years with a pre –WWII fiancé from Duluth who searched the United States for her and was now living in Mississippi, Pearl married her ‘first love’ Marvin Schuler and moved South. After 13 years of marriage Marvin died in 1997and Pearl moved back to Portland to spend 20 active years with friends and family.

Pearl was a member of the Metzger United Methodist Church, King City travel club, and knitters and shuffleboard groups. She loved travel—within the U.S., Europe, Asia, Canada, Mexico and cruises to Alaska, the Panama Canal and the Baltic and especially her trip to her mother’s birthplace in Sweden to meet relatives for the first time at age 84. Pearl loved adventure—while in her nineties she took a hot air balloon ride, a bi-plane flight along the Oregon coast, went kayaking in the Nehalem River, and at age 97 tried her hand at glass blowing. At age 101, Pearl was one of the King City July 4th parade grand marshals.

Pearl is survived by son Ronald (Patricia), grandson James (Shara) and great granddaughters Haleigh and Hannah, daughter Barbara, grandson Matthew and daughter Patti (Ian).

A memorial service will be held at 7pm on Sunday, December 10 at King City Senior Village. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Bethlehem House of Bread in Tigard, Oregon.