Mary Ellen Schaff
PORTAGE – Mary Ellen Schaff, age 99, of Portage, Wisconsin, died on Saturday, November 2, 2024 at Aspirus Tivoli Community. Mary Ellen Wickham was born on April 18, 1925, in Chagrin Falls, Ohio to William Terry Wickham and Rebecca Long Dugan.
Mary Ellen graduated from Cleveland Heights High School in 1942 and went on to college at Heidelberg College in Tiffin, Ohio. She graduated from Heidelberg College with degrees in chemistry and math in June 1946. In June 1947, Mary Ellen married Jack Schaff, a fellow student at Heidelberg. Mary Ellen received her Masters of Science degree in Chemistry from Miami University of Ohio in 1948. She and her husband lived for 12 years in Hamilton, Ohio and Fairfield, Ohio and then moved to Danville, Illinois in 1959. While there, she began teaching at Danville Junior College as an instructor in chemistry. In 1965 the family moved to Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. There, Mary Ellen began her 32-year career teaching chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her husband, Jack, died in 1975.
Mary Ellen retired in 1997 as a full professor. For the next 20 years she traveled extensively throughout the western United States. She hiked, did wildflower photography, and read over 300 books a year. In 2005, Mary Ellen moved to DeForest, Wisconsin, and then, into the assisted living facility, Tender Reflections, in 2018. That same year she moved to Tivoli at Divine Savior Health Care Center, in Portage, Wisconsin.
Preceding her in death were her parents, her husband, and her sister-in-law, Jane Wickham.
Survivors include her brother, William Terry Wickham, Tiffin, OH; four children, Kathleen (David) Broadwell, Port Wing, WI; Michael (Maryanne) Schaff, Oxford, WI; Jacqueline (Timothy) Bremer, DeForest, WI; Brian (Judy) Schaff, Punta Gorda, FL; 7 grandchildren; and 8 great grandchildren.
She was an inspiration to us all.
Per Mary Ellen’s wishes, there will be no formal services at this time.
In lieu of flowers, please direct any memorials to the National Audubon Society.
Pflanz Mendrala Funeral Home in Portage is assisting the family.
