Wendy Jo (Zverblis) Schmidt

Wendy Jo (Zverblis) Schmidt passed away on August 8, 2023, at the age of 76 after a long and valiant battle with glioblastoma. Wendy was born on February 3, 1947, in Glens Falls, New York. She attended Queensbury High School and continued her education at the State University College at Potsdam, NY, receiving her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Secondary English in 1969. She then attended the State University of New York at Albany, NY where she graduated with her Master of Arts in Education in 1970. It was there that she met her soulmate, Edward Schmidt. They married on August 17, 1970, and packed up their Ford Mustang and a trailer and drove to Punta Gorda, FL to begin their careers with the Charlotte County School System.

She began as an English teacher at Charlotte High School—also taking on faculty sponsorship of the Junior Class, Drama Club and Cheerleader Sponsor—until 1977. She became the first female dean of students at Port Charlotte Junior High and moved up to assistant principal at the Junior High in both Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda Middle schools. She returned to Charlotte High in 1980 and served as assistant principal for three years. She completed her Guidance Certification from the University of South Florida and transitioned into the Guidance Department—eventually leading that department as director of guidance in 1987. She then returned to the role of assistant principal at Charlotte High in 1992. She retired from the school system after 43 years. Not being completely satisfied in retirement, she supported her son Jared’s business by being his “online customer service representative”—a job which she really enjoyed and worked until a few months ago.

Wendy’s community involvement over the past 50 years of living in Charlotte County included: charter president of Zonta International of Punta Gorda-Port Charlotte from 1979-80. She was part of the Board of Directors of the Zonta Educational Foundation and served as treasurer of the association. She was a member of the Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce and an Education Committee member/co-chair. She also served on the LEADERSHIP CHARLOTTE Steering Committee. She was a member of the Civic Advisory Council and served as secretary and vice-chair for Medical Center Hospital. She was a longtime member of First Presbyterian Church and was a member of the Family Choir for many years.

Despite many career accolades and deep community and school involvements, her greatest joy was her family. She was married to Ed for 53 years and together they had two children: Janna, and Jared. She often took administrative assignments on days when her children had high school games so she would never miss a game or event. Wendy really thrived when she was able to welcome and spend time with her four grandchildren (Jake, Adam, Paige and Sadie) and her grand pups (Tucker, Milo and Shelby). She loved to support and watch her grandchildren’s games, especially taking to basketball games where she could be heard yelling and cheering the loudest in the stands!

Wendy is survived by her husband, Edward; her children, Janna (Neal) Trottier and Jared (Jill) Schmidt; and her grandchildren, Jake, Adam, Paige and Sadie; and many dear friends and treasured colleagues.

A Celebration of her life will be held on Sunday, August 27th at 2pm at CPAC (Center for Performing Arts) 701 Carmalita St, Punta Gorda, FL. All are welcome to attend to help us celebrate a life well lived.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Moffitt Cancer Center Foundation. Donations can be made by mailing a check to Moffitt Cancer Center Foundation, MBC-FOU, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL 33612; online at Moffitt.org/Donate [moffitt.org]; or Lee Health Regional Cancer Center.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.kayspongerpg.com for the Schmidt family.