Shari Schmidt

Shari Ann Schmidt, of Temperance, MI, has made her way up to the heavens after 71 meaningful years of life. The daughter of Harvey and Jean (Fall) Klaiber, she was born December 2, 1949 in Toledo, Ohio. Shari was generous, kind, and touched the lives of everyone she knew – and she never asked for a single thing in return.

The past twenty-four years of her life were devoted to changing the lives of preschool-aged children as an early childhood special education teacher. Shari was known for always thinking out of the box, and she would always discover unique and personalized ways to connect with her students in order to help them overcome any obstacles they were facing. So many people around her were inspired when she chose to reinvent her life and attended her first day of college in her 40’s.

As a huge proponent of education, she believed that learning is a lifelong process and practiced what she preached. In addition to her bachelor’s degree from the University of Toledo, she went on to earn her master’s degree, followed by becoming a national board-certified educational specialist. Shari always took her role as a mentor seriously, and loved sharing her philosophies with student teachers. Every day was an adventure, and she wouldn’t have had it any other way, even continuing to teach preschool until the age of 70, when she retired from Toledo Public Schools.

If she taught us anything about life, it’s to live it.

She made the most out of every weekend, and never wasted a moment.

She filled every single day going places she loved and doing the things that made her heart happy, such as traveling, exploring, and spending time with friends at her second home in Traverse City, Michigan. Most of all, she loved creating memories with her family and her school kids.

Simply put, every interaction with her was filled with joy. She had a kind heart and a loving spirit. Everyone that knows her will remember that she had a fondness for Farkle, spent as much time at the beach as possible, loved going on Jeep and motorcycle rides, and enjoyed playing a good game of Euchre. She could always instinctively find the perfect puzzle piece she was searching for, was a hell of a shot with her pistol at the shooting range, loved to tell you about her psychic abilities, and made the most darn delicious baklava you ever tasted in your entire life.

She was no doubt greeted at the gates of heaven with loving arms and a big smile as she was once again reunited with her loving father, her twin sister Sue Casertano, and a myriad of relatives and friends who passed before her.

Left to cherish her memory are her husband of 27 years, John Schmidt of Temperance, MI; her son Ben Klaiber (Robert Cavin) of Toledo, OH; her daughter Ahlia Howard (Jonathan Parker) of Frederick, MD; and her two brothers, Marty (Cynthia) Klaiber of Colorado Springs, CO and Gary Klaiber of Toledo, OH.

She will be remembered fondly every time Louis Armstrong is played, and for the way her contagious laughter filled the room.

Our loss is heaven’s gain.

A Celebration of Shari’s Life will be from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 11, 2021, in the Urbanski’s Bedford Funeral Chapel, 8300 Lewis Avenue, Temperance, MI.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made in Shari’s honor to the University of Toledo’s Helping Hands Fund, created to assist future educators with short-term financial needs.

Donations can be mailed to: The UT Foundation

Attn: Gift Processing (Helping Hands Fund 1302459) In Honor of Shari Schmidt

4510 Dorr St., MS820

Toledo, OH 43615