Marilyn B. Schmitz passed away in Palm Desert at the age of 86 on Friday, Feb. 24, 2017. Known throughout her life as “Minow,” her parents, Lynn and Marie Taylor, settled in Laguna Beach in 1927, the year the village incorporated as a city. Marilyn was born in a bungalow on Aster Street in July 1930. She was a 1948 graduate of Laguna Beach High School (Go Artists!) and was instrumental in getting the annual June seniors graduation ceremony moved from the on-campus auditorium to the Irvine Bowl.
She attended Fullerton College where she met Jim Schmitz of Anaheim, and after a two-year courtship they married and settled in Laguna Beach.
He founded Beach Construction Company and was its president until his retirement in 1985. For many years, Marilyn was a member of the Junior Woman’s Club in Laguna and active in her church community of St. Catherine’s. In retirement, the couple bought a second home at the Oasis Country Club in Palm Desert and divided their time between Laguna and the desert until finally settling full-time at the Oasis.
Schmitz loved having her kids, Susan, Mary, Denny and Doug, their friends and teammates around the family home on Manzanita Drive where there was always food, games, music and a swimming pool for spontaneous gatherings.
She is survived by her husband of 66 years, Jim; and her children, Susan of Plano, Texas, Mary of Newport Beach, Denny of Kihei, Maui, Hawaii, Doug of Carmel-by-the-Sea and Lake Oswego, Ore., and their spouses; and grandchildren. In addition, she is survived by her brother-in-law, Jerry Schmitz of Rancho Mirage and Shirley Rush of Laguna Beach; and nieces and nephews.
A mass will be celebrated on Thursday, March 2, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Palm Desert. Burial will be at Pacific View in Corona del Mar on Friday, March 3.
