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"Grief is not a sign of weakness, it is the price of love."

Margaret “Elaine” Schmid, 89, of St. Petersburg, Florida, said her final goodbyes on February 26, 2026.

Elaine was born May 21, 1936, to John and Julienne Maher, and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. As a University of Cincinnati art student, she met Thomas “Tom” William Schmid, also of Cincinnati, an Army ROTC student at Xavier University. They were married on September 6, 1958.

Tom’s career as an Army officer required frequent moves and two separate year-long Vietnam War tours of duty, which Elaine referred to as “the worst two years of her life.”
They began their family in 1963 and had four children. Elaine rose spectacularly to the challenge of raising her family, in tandem with the obligations of a military spouse, while missing and living far from her family and friends of youth.

She most cherished their years stationed in the Panama Canal Zone, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and Germany. Together, Tom and Elaine embraced the people, cultures, and travel opportunities these unique assignments offered, teaching their children by example. They forged long-standing friendships with many fellow military families, and became especially close with several German families, who showed them true German life.

Tom’s final station at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, led them to make their St. Petersburg home a permanent residence. Tom retired from the military, and they assimilated into full civilian life. Elaine began a teaching career as her children grew older, first as a preschool, then kindergarten, aide.

She ultimately found her passion teaching art to grade-school students for almost 20 years at St. Raphael’s, her family’s parish church and school. She built a standout program, one at which faculty, parents and students marveled. Her gift was more than just teaching art; she ignited her students’ enthusiasm and supported their individuality and confidence, helping them to discover and embrace their unique artistic talents. She nurtured more than their artistic skills, as she was a good listener with a gentle, steady way, with wise intuition, observational skills, and a positive attitude. These attributes impacted her relationships with her friends and family alike. Even today, former students and parents note the indelible mark she left on those lucky enough to have called her their art teacher.

Elaine loved family, friends, nature, travel, and cooking. Her home always had an open door for visitors, and was a welcoming, comfortable place to just “be”—with relaxing music often playing, and usually something cooking on the stove.

She cherished time spent at both the beach and the mountains. The family regularly enjoyed beach and camping trips. In retirement years, she and Tom spent every summer through fall in their favorite mountain retreat away from summer heat, at their “home away from home” in Highlands, North Carolina. She continued this tradition after Tom’s death in 2005. She relished visits there from her children and grandchildren, as well as any friends or extended family. She spoiled all with delicious meals, a wide variety of board and card games, puzzles, walks by the nearby Mirror Lake, and visits to the downtown Main Street shops and restaurants. She guided her grandchildren on many art projects and loved watching wildlife, particularly birds. She also loved her dog, Biscuit, and her many cats throughout her life, especially her favorites, Winky and Tessie.

Elaine mastered many talents with apparent ease. She was a consummate reader who was active in book clubs and a “green thumb” gardener. She sewed many outfits, costumes and household items, and embroidered Christmas stockings for each of her grandchildren. She was renowned as an excellent cook. “Balance and moderation” were her mantras, but she often said she could just survive on bread, cheese, chocolate, and fine wine.

She was ahead of her time in many ways. She cared about the environment and “clean food” years before it was trendy. She always appreciated and supported the arts, especially locally, and taught her family the value of art, taking them to many art museums all over Europe. She was a lifelong learner and never tired of pursuing new skills, or meeting and making new friends. She worked hard to maintain her health in all ways, at all ages of life; she worked daily crossword puzzles (in pen), learned to write calligraphy and to play the dulcimer, took watercolor art classes (which she said was the most difficult paint form), rode her bike, took daily walks, and participated in yoga (before it was “cool”) and tai chi classes.

In her golden years, she learned how to knit, and she participated in almost every activity offered as a resident at her American House senior living center, including chair yoga and water aerobics. She had a longstanding love/hate relationship with modern technology but definitely appreciated FaceTime chats with her children and grandchildren, and maintained full, independent living all her life, even with health challenges at the end of her mostly joy-filled and well-lived life.

Most of all, she adored her four children, seven grandchildren, and three little great-grandchildren.

Elaine was preceded in death by her husband, Tom, her sister, Carol, and her grandsons, Alex and Andrew Peet. She is survived by her brother, Dennis Maher (Debbie), daughters Karen Peet (Jeff), and Laura Schmid (Page), sons Mark Schmid (Monica), John Schmid (Corinne), five grandchildren: Justin (Shelby) Peet, Caroline (Niko) Cousins, Sarah Schmid, Eric Schmid & Natalie Schmid, and three great grandchildren: Eleanor & Everett Peet & Amelia Cousins.

A funeral mass will be held at St. Raphael Catholic Church, 1376 Snell Isle Boulevard NE, St. Petersburg, at 1:30 PM on Saturday, March 21, 2026. A reception will follow at the St. Petersburg Woman’s Club, 40 Snell Isle Boulevard NE, St Petersburg.

"In the end, only three things matter:
How much you loved, how gently you lived and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you." ~Buddha

If you wish to make a donation in memory of Elaine, please consider:
National Audobon Society
Sierra Club
National Wildlife Federation
National Organization for Rare Diseases (NORD)

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Elaine Schmid Obituary | Altogether