Marie F. Schlueter died on Sunday, May 15th, at Fountain Square Assisted Living Facility in Lompoc. She was 100 years old.
Marie’s life was celebrated at her 100th Birthday Party, which was held on February 19th of this year. We were blessed that she could participate. Spending this special day with cherished friends and family was a joyful occasion and a fitting sendoff
for her.
Marie was a native Californian. She was born in Claremont, California on February 21, 1922, and attended schools in nearby Pomona, graduating from Pomona Junior College. In college, Marie developed a passion for aeronautics, enrolled in the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) and earned her pilot’s license Ð a rare achievement for a woman of that time. She also met her future husband, another pilot trainee named Aubrey Harry Schlueter.
Both Marie and Harry were hired by Douglas Aircraft Co. in Long Beach in 1941. She was one of the first women to work in the aircraft industry and one of the first to work nights at Douglas. Marie and Harry eloped later that year; and Harry joined the U.S. Army Air Corps.
Marie’s life took some unexpected turns during the wartime years. In 1942, she received a formal invitation to fly for the first U.S. Women’s Army Air Corps. Although becoming a pilot was her greatest aspiration, she had to decline when she learned she was pregnant. Undaunted, she took on the new role of motherhood and, with new daughter Sandra in tow, dutifully followed Harry from air base to air base, until he was called overseas for active duty. A second daughter, Sharryn, was born shortly thereafter.
After the war, Marie worked to support her husband while he pursued a college degree and then an advanced degree from the University of Washington; she was employed by Sears & Roebuck mail-order departments in Pomona, Ridgecrest, and Seattle, Washington.
From the early 1950s through 1980, as Harry established a career in the aerospace industry, Marie became a devoted mother, relentless volunteer … and Harry’s number one ski buddy. The couple were enthusiastic skiers. They learned to ski in 1952, joined the National Ski Patrol (NSP), and became volunteer patrolmen at the Green Valley Lake Ski Area, near Big Bear. Marie was active in the NSP for 25 years, serving three years as Public Relations Director for the Far West Division. During these years, she and her husband set a goal to ski every resort in Europe and North America Ð and they almost succeeded! Of all the areas Marie visited, helicopter-skiing the “Bugaboos” in the Canadian Rockies was the most memorable to her. She was an expert powder skier.
While promoting skiing, Marie also volunteered as a Girl Scout Leader; PTA President at Leuzinger High School in Lawndale, California; buyer for the Centinela Hospital Gift Shop in Inglewood, California; President of Thousand Oaks Women’s Club; and President of Saticoy Women’s Golf Association at Saticoy CC.
When Marie and Harry moved to Lompoc in the mid-1980s, her volunteering intensified. She served with the Hospital Auxiliary at Lompoc Valley Hospital; as a docent at the La Purisima Mission for 30 years (where she was known as the “Burro Lady”); an educator in the Mission Outreach Program for 30 years, making local history come alive for young school children; coordinator of the Lompoc Valley Flower Festival Parade for 20 years; volunteer at the Lompoc Museum; and usher at the annual Pismo Beach Jazz Festival. Avid golfers, she and her husband were also active in the Village Country Club, where she served on the Board of Directors. For all her many hours of service here in Lompoc, she received the Woman of the Year Award in 2014. Marie considered this to be the greatest honor she ever received.
In addition to moving over 16 times in 75 years of marriage, Marie and Harry traveled extensively. Wherever they went, Europe, China, the Middle East, Russia, Australia or the U.S., Marie optimistically formed new friendships and made fond memories. As she often said, “I have had a wonderful life!”
Marie is survived by daughter Sandra Honomichl (Boulder, Colorado); her second daughter, Sharryn Alder, passed away in 2017. She leaves six grandchildren (Joshua, Neil & Nicholas Honomichl, Kimberly Garcia, Robin Solomon & Christopher Dobson); and twelve great-grandchildren.
