Anita Eerdmans Schwarz, a 50-year resident of Rye, N.Y., passed away on January 30, 2023.
Born in Sutton, Surrey, England, on November 30, 1939, she was the daughter of Johannes Eerdmans and Antonia Wilhelmina de Vries. In 1953, the family moved to the United States, where she went on to graduate from Mamaroneck High School, class of 1957, before attending Wellesley College.
On June 6, 1959, she married John A. Schwarz III, a storybook marriage of 63 years.
Mrs. Schwarz was an active member of the Rye community. She was a past president of the Rye Historical Society and was integral in the restoration of the Milton Burying Ground, Rye’s oldest cemetery. A talented watercolorist, she took classes for 25 years at The Rye Arts Center with a longstanding devoted group of artists. She worked as a travel agent at Travel Anywhere and supported the schools in Rye that her children and grandchildren attended.
Four of her children attended Duke University where both she and her husband served as members of the Board of Advisors of the Duke University Nasher Museum of Art and were avid Blue Devil fans.
A devout parishioner of All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Harrison, N.Y., Mrs. Schwarz also served as a volunteer manager of its Second Chance Thrift Shop.
She was a member of Westchester Country Club and the Union League Club of New York. She was also a longstanding member of Sankaty Head Golf Club in Nantucket, Mass., and Coral Beach Club in Paget, Bermuda. Mrs. Schwarz excelled at many sports, including tennis, paddle tennis, and golf, at which she recorded five holes-in-one over her life, most recently at Westchester Country Club at the age of 80.
Her life was filled with so many passions, but it was her children and grandchildren who brought her the greatest joy. “She was the true matriarch of our family,” said her children, “and she enjoyed deep personal relationships with all her grandchildren, ages 10 to 28. A regular attendee at their sporting events and Christmas concerts, she was the ultimate cheerleader and proud grandmother. We will miss her dearly but hold all the wonderful memories close to our hearts.”
In addition to her husband, John Schwarz III, she is survived by her children: Jennifer Horne (Robert) of Rye, Adam Schwarz of Washington, D.C., Patrick Schwarz (Whitney) of Rye, Christy Schultze (George) of Rye, and Timothy Schwarz (Sarah) of Darien, Conn. She is also survived by her 18 grandchildren: Andrew, Jarrett, and Phoebe Horne; Jackson and William Schwarz; Van, Ally, Madeline, and Sabrina Schwarz; Annabelle, Julia, Hugo, Walter, Eloise, and Blaise Schultze; and Sophie, Jamie, and Caroline Schwarz; and her sisters, Lidi Woodthorpe and Tris Barker of England.
A funeral service was held on February 3 at Christ’s Church Rye.
Donations in Anita Schwarz’s memory may be made to All Saint’s Episcopal Church, 300 Harrison Avenue, Harrison, NY 10528.
