Palla Jayne Schreurs

Palla K. Schreurs passed away on October 8, 2017 at her home in Grasonville, MD. She was 97. She was born April 11, 1920 in St. Louis, Missouri to the late Walter M. Koenig and Cora B. Hanson Koenig. She attended Webster Groves High School, graduating class of 1937. After graduation, she attended Washington University, where she was a member of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, and later attended Iowa State taking courses in aeronautical engineering. On June 17, 1944, she married Merle F. Schreurs and resided in Des Moines, Iowa. After marriage, she went back to school, attending Toledo University where she received a bachelor’s degree in education. In 1967, she and her husband moved to Andover, Mass., where she received a master’s degree from Suffolk University in early childhood education. Mrs. Schreurs began teaching in 1967 at Greater Lawrence Technical Vocational School and retired in 1989. In 2000, Mr. and Mrs. Schreurs moved to Grasonville to be closer to her family. She was a member of the United Church of Christ Annapolis and the Kent Island garden club. Throughout her life, Mrs. Schreurs found great joy in her family, in the company of children, her teaching career, and in gardening. A lover of flowers and especially roses, she was a skilled flower arranger and gardener. She also loved to host her friends at her home, whether it be a bridge, garden, or knitting group, a family gathering, or a small group of dear friends. There were a great many dear friends from the years in Ohio, Massachusetts, and Maryland, demonstrated by a well-filled address book kept current until quite recently. Wherever she lived, she felt a responsibility to volunteer her time and talent in her community. Her family remembers her always making time for community garden projects, church, innumerable fundraisers, and other efforts to help or comfort others in need. As she became more frail, there were still comfort shawls in progress on her knitting needles. Mrs. Schreurs is survived by three children, Susan Richards (Paul), Stephen Schreurs (Susan) and Janice (David) Conlon; two grandchildren, Blake Schreurs and Christopher Conlon; two great-grandchildren, Alexander and Lucas Schreurs, and Kara Humphrey (widow of Brian Schreurs), to whom she remained close . She was predeceased by her husband Merle in 2016; her sisters Bette Harp and MaryLou Rivett, and brother Ralph Koenig; and her grandson Brian Schreurs. The family wishes to extend their appreciation to the staff and caregivers from Home Instead, Inc and Compass Hospice Care, who helped immeasurably in easing Palla's last years in her home. Services will be held on Saturday, November 11, 2017 from 2-4 pm at the Fellows, Helfenbein & Newnam Funeral Home, P.A. in Chester, MD. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to: Compass Regional Hospice, 160 Coursevall Drive, Centreville MD 21617; Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center, 600 Discovery Ln, Grasonville, MD 21638; United Church of Christ Annapolis, 8 Carvel Circle, Edgewater, MD 21037

Palla Jayne Schreurs

April 11, 1920 - October 8, 2017