Christine H. Schuler - Obituary

n Saturday, June 10, 2023 Christine Hildegard Schuler, beloved wife, mother, and friend, passed away within weeks of a pancreatic cancer diagnosis. As fate would have it Christine died just outside of her beloved hometown, Vienna, Austria, following a river cruise trip she and her husband had taken in Europe. Christine was known to her friends as an outgoing organizer of gatherings, bringing fun, music, delicious food, and high spirits to events that she arranged and hosted. She was creative with handicrafts and cooking and enjoyed interior decorating: sewing curtains and pillow cases, painting walls the most vivid of colors, refinishing furniture, antiquing, and going to auctions. She was very athletic as a downhill skier, tennis player, and jet ski rider. Christine was very stylish and chic. She wore her bright red lipstick while in the hospital and still looked like a movie star up until her passing. Christine was raised in post WWII Vienna and spent her summers on a rural farm in Sud Tirol, Austria. She often spoke of how much she loved the mountains and good clean food directly from the earth. She had a strong relationship with the saints of the Catholic church and as a child, taught by nuns, often went to church as a place of quiet and happiness. Beginning early in her life, Christine was an enthusiastic traveler, spending a month in Italy with school classmates as a teen and taking trips with her mother. Her commitment to travel prompted her to initiate the steps to learn English and French so she could apply to work as an airline stewardess for Austrian Air. She often told stories of her first US cross-country trip in 1969, taken with Greyhound Bus, through their “99 Days for $99” promotion. At 21 years old, as an au pair for three children in Washington, DC (while scooping ice cream under the table at an ice cream parlor in Georgetown), she met Alfred Schuler, her husband of nearly 53 years at a party, who drove a hot car and offered her a ride home. Christine and Alfred, married Sept 5, 1970, at St John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, DC, were world travelers, even before their wedding; traversing the Mediterranean, northern Africa, and parts of the Middle East in Chrstine’s green VW bug, and on their honeymoon exploring US National Parks in their Rambler station wagon. Christine and Alfred were seasoned boaters. Before children, they were on the water in their Cabin Cruiser most weekends in the Chesapeake Bay. Christine and Alfred lived in Northern Virginia where they raised their two daughters, Mischa and Melina. Sunday mornings were filled with the ritual of an extensive brunch and listening to opera. While her girls were in school, Christine often volunteered in high school regattas for Mischa’s rowing team, and ferried Melina to countless dance lessons and recitals. At the same time Christine maintained a full social calendar and built many long and close friendships. She was a frequent and exceptional bridge player and a gardener and president of The Stoney Brook Garden Club in Fairfax, VA for several years. Christine and Alfred moved to the Annapolis area full time in 2004. There, she became an avid bird watcher and duck lover, member of the Historic Londontown London Town and Gardens, Edgewater Senior Center, and volunteer at St. John’s College. Christine traveled to Austria nearly every year to visit her parents Albine and Johann Hermanke, and her closest childhood friend, Eva Schramboeck, and to ensure her two daughters learned the German language. Christine is survived by her husband, Alfred; their children Mischa Schuler of Portland, Maine (husband Brian Rod) and Melina Schuler Gambino of Dover, NH (husband Craig Gambino). She will be remembered by her beloved grandson, Anton, as Gigi. Family and friends are invited to celebrate Christine Schuler’s life on Saturday, July 1 from 9:30 am, including her memorial service at 11 am, at the Kalas Funeral Home & Crematory, 2973 Solomons Island Rd., Edgewater, MD. Burial will follow in St. Anne's Cemetery, Annapolis.