Obituary of Eleanor Schwartzapfel

Eleanor passed away peacefully in Santa Cruz on May 16, 2015 with family at her bedside. Throughout her life, she remained loyal to family and friends and continued to view life as a gift. Eleanor was born in 1923 to Daniel and Anna Kamrass in New York, NY. As a young woman, she attended Miami of Ohio University and took flying lessons. She married her husband, Wilbert Schwartzapfel, in 1950 and had her first child, daughter Heidi, in 1951 followed by a son, Langley, in 1954. She was a devoted wife and mother. She lived with her family in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania for a number of years, but spent most of her life in Potomac and Rockville, Maryland. Eleanor was a life-long member of the League of Women Voters, to which she devoted much of her time and energy. Her passion was painting and she painted and sculpted and collected books about art and art history. She was an inveterate traveler, visiting Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Mexico, New Zealand, Alaska, Hawaii, the Virgin Islands and the Bahamas, among many other states and countries. She loved the beach and the ocean and reserved a special place in her heart for whales, whom she loved to see at any opportunity. An avid skier, she conquered mountains in Vermont, Colorado, and Utah. Eleanor was preceded in death by her husband, Wilbert, after a wonderful marriage of 58 years, and by her beloved younger brother, Murray. She is survived by her children, Heidi Pollard of Anchorage, Alaska and Langley Schwartzapfel of Santa Cruz, her grandchildren, Kimberly Vierra, Joshua Henderson, and Rosemary Villanueva, and her beloved great grandchildren, Sophia Vierra, Olivia Henderson, and Ethan and Faith Villanueva. A memorial service will be held at Santa Cruz Memorial - Oakwood Chapel, 3301 Paul Sweet Road, Santa Cruz, CA on Monday, May 25, 2015 at 2:00 p.m.