Avis D. Schorer

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Schorer, Avis D. On August 31, 2016, Mrs. Avis D. Schorer died. She had been in declining health for several months. She was 97. As she wanted, she died in her home, quietly, without pain, with all her faculties and with dignity. Her daughter Anna was with her at the end. Mrs. Schorer was the fourth of eleven children. She was preceded in death by her brothers William, Arnold, Lowell and Dorian and by her sisters Edith and Alice. She is survived by her daughter Dr. Anna E. Schorer, son-in-law Dr. Gary R. Kravitz, their three children Emily, Alexander and Lydia, Emily's child Luna Zoe Jacobs and Luna's father Stephan Jacobs; by her son Joseph U. Schorer, daughter-in-law Mildred L. Calhoun and their two sons Maxwell and Nicholas; and by her son John P. Schorer. She is also survived by her sisters Leona Norton, Phyllis Olson, Elsie Miller (and Elsie's husband Russell R. Miller) and Mary Lapp, by her sisters-in-law Eileen Dagit (widow of Dorian) and Colleen Dagit (widow of Lowell) and by many nephews, nieces and other extended family members. Mrs. Schorer was born in Churdan, Iowa on March 17, 1919 to Raymond and Alma (Arnold) Dagit. She was raised on a farm and received her nurse's training at Iowa Methodist Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa. Shortly after her graduation from nurse's training, she enlisted as a nurse in the U.S. Army and served on the front lines from 1942 to 1945 in the North African and Italian theaters. More about her experiences in the Army can be found in her book "A Half Acre of Hell: A Combat Nurse in WWII" (Galde Press 2000). Following her discharge from the Army, she received anesthesia training in Chicago at what is now called the Wesley-Passavant School of Nursing and became a certified registered nurse anesthetist. She was married in 1950 to Calvin E. Schorer. In 1958, after a divorce, she and her three children moved from Detroit to Webster City, Iowa, where she lived until 1968. In 1968 she moved to the Twin Cities, where she resumed her career by becoming a nurse anesthetist at Lutheran Deaconess Hospital in Minneapolis until her retirement in 1982. She remained a citizen of the Twin Cities for the rest of her life. Mrs. Schorer was raised in the Protestant faith and, starting in the 1950s, was a member of the Lutheran church. Through the church and other community groups, especially after her retirement, she dedicated a significant part of her time to community service, such as staffing the traveler's aid desk at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, volunteering at the Penn Lake Library in Bloomington, working for Meals on Wheels and baking and sewing for her church circles. The publication of her book opened new worlds for Mrs. Schorer. She was the subject of a Twin Cities National Public Radio broadcast and of front page stories in the Minneapolis and St. Paul papers. A Twin Cities theatrical group turned her book into a play. She was a speaker at local and national conferences. On the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol is a monument in her honor. Her book became a featured publication at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in Washington, D.C. During her career and even more so after her retirement, she delighted in travel, both abroad and in the United States. She also reveled in cutting-edge technology: the newest computers, an internet ready television, her own Facebook page, Skype and an iPhone that she used to check the latest news and to FaceTime with her family. She was a life-long Democrat who kept abreast of developments in national and local politics up until the end. She golfed as long as she was physically able. Her greatest treasure was her family. Here is a haiku to celebrate Mrs. Schorer's life: Iowa farm girl Loving mother Author of A great Book Mrs. Schorer's remains will be cremated in a private ceremony. A shiva will be held in memory of Mrs. Schorer starting at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 7 at Mount Zion Temple, 1300 Summit Avenue in St. Paul. In the near future, a date and time will be announced for a funeral service with military honors at Ft. Snelling. In lieu of flowers, Mrs. Schorer asked that donations be made to the American Heart Association.

Published on September 4, 2016