Margaret (Schmutte) Sirois

Margaret "Marg" Clara Gertrude Sirois (nee Schmutte) passed away peacefully at home on January 8, 2023.  She was 98 years old. 

Marg was born in 1924 in Los Angeles, California to Clarence Schmutte and Ruth Rhoades Schmutte.  She grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana.  She and her husband, Robert "Bob" Earl Sirois, raised their family in the embrace of Shelby, Indiana.  After their children were grown, Marg and Bob lived and worked in Indiana, Europe and Ohio.  During her final years, she lived with her daughter in Adams County, Ohio.

Fascinated during childhood by aerodynamics, Marg and her siblings entertained themselves building and flying kites and toy airplanes.   During high school, she worked and saved her money to pay for her own pilot lessons.  At age seventeen, a few months prior to her graduation from Lawrence Central High School, she earned  her wings by solo flying an airplane.  This accomplishment remained a source of pride for her into her final days.

After World War II, Marg met and married Bob, a veteran of the U.S. Army Air Corps.  They found air travel exhilerating, and enjoyed traveling the world.  They also sought out exhibitions by military groups such as the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds.  During her final years, Marg delighted in military practice flights that frequent airspaces above Adams County.  She also enjoyed outings to Cincinnati's Lunken Airfield, where she sat outdoors in fresh air watching airplanes come and go.

Before marrying and again after raising her children, Marg worked for the U.S. Government.  Volunteerism included the Infectious Diseases Division of the University of Cincinnati, AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati, and Cincinnati Public Schools.  In addition to her fascination with aviation, her passions and interests included family, homemaking, nature, reading, sewing and needlework, cooking and baking, travel, the great outdoors, and physical fitness.   Music and dance provided Marg particular pleasure during her final years.  She retained many song lyrics and melodies, as well as many dance steps and routines, well into her nineties.

Marg was preceded in death by her husband, Bob, and their son, David Robert Sirois.  Also preceding her were her parents, Clarence and Ruth Schmutte, and her siblings:  James (Mauna) Schmutte;  Clarence "Bud" (Betty) Schmutte;  Louise Schmutte (Monk) Morgan, and Raymond (Ruth) Schmutte. Additionally, she was preceded by her parents-in-law, Earl Aloysius "Frenchy" Sirois and Fern Wood Sirois;  sisters-in-law, Margaret Sirois (Cecil Richard "CR") Hayden and Eleanor Sirois  (Waldo "Babe") Bartz, and her son-in-law, Stephan Schwering.

Marg is survived by her son, Richard Sirois and granddaughter, Nicole Marie Sirois;  her daughter, Sandra Sirois Schwering and grandson Mitchell Stephan Schwering;  her brother-in-law, Leon "Jigger" (Juanita) Sirois, and a host of family and friends.

Interment will be at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, where Marg will join her husband and their son.  Her memory can be honored by acts of kindness to others and/or donations to Hospice of Hope Development Office (909 Kenton Station Drive, Maysville, KY 41056, tel. 606-759-4050) or donations to Adams County Senior Citizens Council (10835 State Route 41, West Union, OH 45693,  tel. 937-544-3979).

The immediate family expresses gratitude to family and friends; Hospice of Hope;   Adams County Senior Citizens Council;   Respite Services at Eagle Creek Nursing Center;   Shear Magic Styling Salon;  Adams County Sheriff's Office, and Renfro Funeral Home.  All provided kindness and essential support as Marg prepared for a soft landing from this earthly journey.  

Ninety-eight years after starting this life,  Margaret has conducted her final landing.  She has earned a new pair of wings and they have lifted her in glory.  She now soars amidst the angels,  with the wind firmly beneath her wings. 

May she rest in peace.  

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Margaret (Schmutte) Sirois, please visit our floral store.