Jennie J. Schmerbauch

Jennie Josephine Schmerbauch was born in Chifton Heights, PA on July 15, 1923. She passed away at the age of 89 on August 16, 2012 after an extremely courageous and inspiring fight with ovarian cancer. Jennie was the eldest daughter of eight children born to Guiseppi and Rosina Scuzzi. She met her future husband, Charles Ray Schmerbauch, a WWII Navy veteran at a bus stop in Philadelphia, PA. He was on leave and she waiting for the bus to go to work. They married two years later upon his return from deployment on November 11, 1944. They soon left for California which Jennie quickly referred to as "her naturalized home state".

Jennie had a work ethic from an early age which she, along with her husband, passed on to their six children. She cleaned houses at the age of 12 to help support the family and held jobs continually from that time on until she and Charlie left for California. She then was a fulltime housewife and maintained a household of six children while her husband worked in civil service until his death. Once her youngest child entered junior high school; Jennie enrolled at Southwestern College and earned an associate degree while being employed fulltime as a special education instructional assistant.

Upon her retirement as a special education instructional assistant job she was employed at Norma Park Senior Center. She later retired yet continued to serve as a volunteer at Norma Park Senior Center up until two weeks after her diagnosis on May 8, 2012.

Jennie was preceded in death by her husband of 31 1/2 years, Charlie, who died on June 6, 1976. She is survived by her six children: Charles W., Patricia A. (Edward), Robert J., Terrance M., Nancy M., Carole A. (David), her three grandchildren Alexis (John), Elaine, Brian (Amity), and four great-grandchildren Milana, Zion, Gabriel, and Adrian.

Mom requested a direct burial without services, a viewing, or memorial. Her request was honored. She was interned aside her husband at Glen Abbey Memorial Park. The only request from family members is that she be remembered as the strong, independent, caring, and selfless individual she was everyday of her life.