Evamarie Weiss

December 14, 1936 — October 20, 2026

Sarasota Florida - Evamarie Weiss, 89, passed away at her home on October 20, 2026, in Sarasota, Florida. She was born and raised during WWII in Berlin, Germany, and is predeceased by her parents, Erika Agatha Schoenfeldt (of Berlin, Germany) and Ernst-Paul Weiss (of Teplitz, Rumania). She was the oldest of four children whose father died when she was nine - after Berlin had been bombed. She is the last surviving sibling of that generation. She wrote a detailed genealogy that described her childhood and family history. She was always happiest when she was with her children, her life partner, her cats, in her landscaped garden, and while making her art - her advanced photography and painting skills developed over the course of her lifetime. She spoke German, French, a bit of Russian, Dutch and, naturally, English. It would be difficult to contain a description of a person like Eva - this obituary writeup is an attempt at that.

Eva is predeceased by her devoted life partner of 43 years, Shirley Jane Charron, who was an esteemed artist and pewter smith in her own right. They built two homes together and then produced their own artwork for sale while studying different artistic techniques to further develop their creative identities. They had beautiful cats and treated them like family. Pete, Marlena, Zsa Zsa, and Winston were the subjects of several lovely paintings.

Eva’s primary art was photography and she was always deeply interested in what she could do with images. She exhibited her work with awards in venues in Connecticut, Washington and Florida. She published in Photography magazine and was a member of the Photographers’ Round Table in Connecticut and served on the Board of Directors of the New England School of Photography. Her Dutch landscape panorama photograph was selected by the Director of the Aldridge Museum of Art at an open juried exhibition and was shown in the Ridgefield Guild of Artists Photography Show and the Art After Dark Exhibit in 2001.

Eva eventually developed photography abstraction skills, experimenting with bright colors and figments of imagination that arise from common items. She was invited to teach an Advanced Adobe PhotoShop class after they moved to New Milford, Connecticut. She began watercolor painting in 2006, taking classes and workshops year round at Art Center Manatee and Ringling School for Art and Design in Longboat Key. She exhibited, was selected at several juried shows, received awards and sold many of her paintings, and was a member of Art Center Sarasota, Art Center Manatee, and the Artists Guild of Anna Maria Island. She was proud to be a Signature Member of the Florida Suncoast Watercolor Society. She also sold her watercolor paintings at a gallery on Anna Maria Island later in her life. Her paintings and photographs are highly cherished by her children and grandchildren, while many were sold to the public after receiving an award. She eventually bound and self-published her favorite photographs and paintings for her children, and gave the remaining artwork away to her Bradenton church and friends.

Eva had six children, named in birth order with their spouses/life partners, as follows: Patricia Joan McLaughlin Hetrick and spouse, George Caviston Hetrick (Cedar Park, TX); JoAnn Catherine Schnautz (Ossining, NY); John Jay Ernst Schnautz (Eau Claire, WI- deceased); Anita Beatrice Reagan and life partner, Edward Kenitz, Jr. (Amsterdam, NY); Leslie Alexander Schnautz and spouse, Maureen (Monahan) Schnautz (Hamilton, OH); and, Thomas William Schnautz and spouse, Angela Riberdy (Cumming, GA). The loss of her oldest son, John Jay, to cancer when he was only 29, dealt a heartbreaking and long-lasting blow to Eva, the entire family and to those who knew Jay.

Eva is survived by six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, named as follows:

Patrick Allen Mears (Ypsilanti, MI); Erica Larson Bautze and spouse, Christoph Bautze (Leipzig, Germany) where they live with Eva’s Great-Grandsons: Mika, Kimi and Bjarne Bautze; Alexander Jay Reagan (Clifton Park, NY); Rachel Nicole Reagan (Buffalo, NY); Dr. Ryan Patrick Leslie Schnautz and spouse, Savannah (Deuer) Schnautz (Beavercreek, OH); and, Sean Christian Schnautz and spouse, Julia (Feldmann) Schnautz (Columbus, OH).

Eva knew her grandchildren individually and was interested in their lives. She made them sweaters, paintings, stuffed animals, sent cards and letters, traveled to see them, attended christenings, confirmations and graduations, called, emailed, and surrounded herself with their photographs and drawings.

What follows is a condensed chronological narrative of Eva’s life. After completing Hans-Lyceum School for Girls in Berlin during her early years in Waidmannslust, Berlin, she worked at the Free University Cancer/Oncology Department. At age 22, Eva met an American Fulbright student in Berlin. They soon moved to Holland and married in The Hague where her first two daughters were born. In 1960, Eva became an American citizen, and the growing family was transferred to Saudi Arabia for ten years where her husband, John A. Schnautz (with a post-doc in Chemical Engineering), took a job with ARAMCO. During this job assignment, and while living in the oil camp communities of Ras Tanura, Abqaiq and Dhahran, they had numerous opportunities to travel the world with their children. After ten years in Arabia, where three more children were born, they moved briefly to Massachusetts, then to Long Island, New York, where Eva’s sixth child, Thomas, was born. The family returned to The Netherlands for several years and then relocated to North Tarrytown, NY for a job assignment with Exxon Middle East in NYC.

Eva was disciplined and naturally creative, driven to be the best at whatever she attempted, and her family knew this. She devoted most of her twenties and thirties exclusively to the needs of her growing family. She sewed most of the children’s clothing, including her own, as there were no accessible retail shops in the 1960’s Persian Gulf towns, which were fenced for security and safety. As context, women had no driving or financial decision-making freedoms, and there was no birth control. She developed her skills at ceramics, sewing, painting, and woodworking, making furniture and toys for the household. She was the only woman permitted to use the company woodworking shop. Her earliest photography skills were learned using her father’s camera and she was the only woman allowed to use the company darkroom to develop photos she would share with family in the US and Germany. She documented family travels to UNESCO Heritage Sites in the Middle East during the 1960’s, typing encyclopedia historical explanations to accompany her photo albums. The family emphasized travel and education to their children in ways that made them inquire creatively about cultures, nature and the sciences throughout their lives.

Through many international moves and hectic school changes, they did a great job of raising their six children. Through all the transitions, Eva used her creative intellect and fierce determination to help her family thrive, even as her marriage came to an end during the mid-late 1970’s after the final move to the US.

Eva and her family moved to the US full time in 1974 after several years in Holland. She wanted to work and study so took a job as a stenographer-secretary to put herself through college. This was after her oldest child returned from boarding school and started high school in New York. She divorced in 1978 and began pursuing her creative arts, meeting Shirley Charron shortly thereafter.

In 1982, she graduated Magna Cum Laude in Business Administration and International Marketing from Pace University in New York. In 1989, her formal request to regain her German Citizenship was denied. In 1993, Eva and Shirley moved to New Milford, CT and built their first house while pursuing their artistic talents. In the late 1990’s, they moved to Bradenton, Florida where they built their second house and could enjoy warmer seasons. Eva’s children and grandchildren were always welcome to visit and stay awhile. This is where they kept their home for more than twenty years.

Eva loved German Marzipan, milk chocolate and her children were amazed that she looked forward to boiled rutabagas for holiday meals. She loved Classical Music, Marlena Dietrich, and Enya, sang in her German Lutheran Church choir and played the piano, harmonica and guitar in her younger years. Her life was rich and full. Her energetic presence and artistic creations are deeply missed.

Eva’s family would like to thank Palmer Ranch Center for Rehabilitation and Healing (formerly Brookdale Assisted Living) and Tidewell Hospice in Sarasota for their compassionate care of Eva and her family during Eva’s long illness.

Donations in her name may be gifted to the Manatee County Humane Society and/or any Animal Cruelty Prevention organization of your choosing.

Private services will be held at the convenience of the family.