Obituary
Dr. Mary Anne Schadler, a Santa Fe homeopathic veterinarian, died April 4, 2024. She was 67. There will be a gathering in Santa Fe on October 19th, 2024, to honor and remember her. A family remembrance time will also be scheduled at a later date.
Mary Anne was born in 1956 as the fourth of five children, in Cincinnati, Ohio to John, MD, and Lois Schadler. Her parents chose to live in places in need of a general surgeon and moved regularly in her childhood. Her Dad joined the Public Health Service, served with Methodist Medical Missions, provided care at a United Mine Workers Hospital, became a Peace Corps physician and then joined the Foreign Service of the US Department of State. In addition to Covington, KY, Mary Anne lived in Oklahoma, Texas, Alaska, and West Virginia before third grade!
It was in 1965 and in third grade that the family moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico - the state she came to love! Subsequently, the family relocated to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, then to Hamilton, Texas; and from there her father was assigned with the State Dept. to Tunis, Tunisia. She attended boarding school at The St. Stephen School in Rome, Italy for a semester and then the next year at the Stony Brook School on Long Island. She did not like boarding school, so when her father was assigned to La Paz, Bolivia, she eagerly went to school in La Paz for the last two years of high school.
All along the way, starting when Mary Anne was a toddler, she (of course) loved an assortment of cats and dogs. In Las Cruces, at ages 8-12, she discovered her life-long love of all things horse. The addiction may have started when she rode a neighbor friend’s horse, encouraged by her mother who grew up on a farm in Kentucky and loved horses just as much. In Ethiopia, they lived in a house with a stable and had three horses and in La Paz she rode and trained regularly at the riding club where the Bolivian military officers also learned equestrian skills. She developed proficiency in Spanish and became an accomplished equestrian participating in, and often winning, dressage competitions. While in high school in Hamilton, Texas she and her mother became dear friends with the rancher and horsewoman, Jane Shawver. They acquired the first in a line of mares that remained in the family for decades. Mary Anne’s beloved Marayah, at age 34, was put down just a few months ago.
She was consistently a stellar student, who loved studying and learning. She got along with almost everyone, and was always popular with her friendliness, humor, and…sparkle. That’s it, she had “sparkle”.
She started college at the University of Texas at Austin and when her parents returned to Las Cruces in 1977, she transferred to NMSU. MaryAnne was an Honors graduate in 1979. She started her professional schooling in the first veterinary class at Tufts University Veterinary School, then transferred and received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Colorado State University in 1984. Her first practice was with Acoma Animal Clinic/Hospital in Santa Fe.
After the deaths of her parents, MaryAnne followed her heart and a significant other for ten years in Hailey, ID before returning to her home in Santa Fe. Her continuous curiosity and perceptions of animals led her to explore professionally as well. She began to feel increasingly uncomfortable with the trajectory of “Western” and corporate veterinary medicine. Over the past 20 years Mary Anne studied Dr. Richard Pitcairn and others skilled in homeopathy and transitioned to her independent practice- primarily veterinary homeopathic medicine. She attended conferences and expanded her knowledge of homeopathy, greatly influenced by her own unique understanding of and compassion for animals. Almost without exception, anyone who had the privilege of having her care for one of their animals felt they were in the presence of an amazing and unique caregiver, who listened attentively, probed gently but insistently and connected to their animal in a gentle but deep way. Dr. Schadler would ponder her understanding of the animal and give carefully considered advice that was designed for the specific animal, the specific condition and the specific owner.
Her second area of expertise was end-of-life care. When a beloved pet was approaching the end and those difficult decisions were at hand, Dr. Schadler….Mary Anne… had an amazing ability to bring an unexpected clarity and comfort to the animal and their people. It was something that many of her clients remember with great tenderness. To observe her do this work generally left one with the feeling they’d been a part of something very unusual and special, if not overtly spiritual.
She is survived by her older sister Deb McKelvey in Albuquerque and her younger brother Paul in Kansas City. She was preceded in death by her mother and father, Lois and John, her two older brothers John and Jim, and her grand-nephew Connor.
Our Mary Anne was a unique, delightful, intelligent, articulate, funny, compassionate and passionate person. She was a loving daughter, a wonderful sister, an extraordinary aunt, an amazing veterinarian and a caring friend. She was a joy to all who knew her. Mary Anne is and always will be missed deeply by her family, her friends, neighbors, acquaintances and of course, many, many animals.
Gallery
Videos
Memory wall
I will miss her dearly.
Robert Norman Schwyzer,
Classmate, Colleague, and Dear, Dear Friend
We loved you. Susan and JC
Almost 14 years ago, by total coincidence, we bought a house across the street from hers. Having her as a direct neighbor was incredibly soothing, I always knew that if I needed help with one of my animals, she was just a short distance away.
She was an incredible human being. She left such a huge void in my life as well as in our neighborhood.
Every time I need to go to town, I drive by her house as I turn out of my driveway. Every time it breaks my heart to know she is no longer there, that I will never again run into her out in the road walking like she did daily.
My heart is so heavy and sad with missing her.
She and I offered support and laughter to each other. Her gentle and caring nature touched soothed and helped my furry family and me.
I wanted to add a picture of my last wolfdog as Mary Anne helped her pass so blissfully. It was remarkable for my severely traumatized T’anka and a measure of Mary Anne’s gift
that she shared so generously. I couldn’t manage to but I wish you could see the peace in her face - something she had not felt in her life. This was Mary Anne’s gift to my sweet girl.
Thank you Mary Anne - I miss your presence in the neighborhood and in my life. Peace to your dear Spirit.
I loved her dearly and miss her deeply.
Service
1200 Old Pecos Trail
Santa Fe, NM 87505
11:00 am
Reception Following
