Mary C. Schmand

Mary Catherine Schmand (nee Rust) -- wife of one, mother of six, grandmother of sixteen, great grandmother of twenty-one, and friend of many, died July 21, 2024, surrounded by generations of her descendants. Born April 2, 1930, to Elmer and Katherine Rust, she was raised in Buffalo’s Kensington neighborhood in a household that included her parents, brother Edmund “Bud” Rust, and a collection of aunts and uncles brought under one roof by the economics of the Great Depression. As a student at St. James grammar school and, later, Sacred Heart Academy, Mary forged friendships that lasted her entire life.

She married James Schmand, who she’d known since St. James (and wasn’t that fond of in grammar school), in 1951. Their marriage lasted 64 years until Jim’s death in 2015.

Mary’s children include James (Brenda), Michael, Timothy (Janet Altman), Mary Ann Bartels (the late Brian), Catherine, and Kathleen Corners (John). Her early family experience stood her well as she raised six children in a tiny postwar Cape Cod on Buffalo’s northside. The Brinton Street doors were never locked. Neighbors, family, and her children’s playmates regularly found refuge in Mary’s home. When there are six kids, what’s one or two more? The children of friends and neighbors often stayed over when turmoil in their families required it. When the house was finally sold a locksmith had to be called to create keys.

Jim’s law enforcement career took Mary from her beloved Buffalo to postings in Long Island and Hollywood, Florida. Her home in Hollywood served for many years as a place of warmth for family and friends visiting from Buffalo or wherever their lives had taken them. At fifty, she returned to school, obtaining an AA in nursing, and worked as a caregiver in various Hollywood area hospitals into her seventies. In her retirement, Mary served as President of the Columbiettes for the Knights of Columbus Father M. F. Monahan Council of Hollywood, Florida. Her good works helped raise funds to support needy families in her community.

Mary returned to Buffalo after Jim’s death and resided at the Brothers of Mercy where she enjoyed independent living until her final years. The family is grateful to the Brothers of Mercy staff for supporting Mary until the end. She leaves behind family and friends who count themselves fortunate to have known her.

Please join the family for a Mass of the Christian Burial on Saturday, August 31st at St. Rose of Lima at 11: 00 a.m. and internment, immediately following, beside Jim in Buffalo’s Forest Lawn Cemetery, on a ridge overlooking the intersection of Main Street and Delevan Avenue. Her family requests you consider the Brothers of Mercy should you wish to make a charitable donation in Mary’s honor.