Pauline Anne Schadt

Pauline Anne Klobucar Schadt, aka Polly, was born May 28, 1931, in Chicago, IL and passed into eternal life August 20, 2024, at the age of 93. She was the daughter of Ferdinand O. and Pauline V. Klobucar. Her older brother was Ferd, aka ‘Ferdie’. Polly grew up in Chicago and attended Thomas Aquinas High School. She went to Michigan State College in East Lansing, Michigan in the fall of 1949.

Polly met Graham Schadt on October 16, 1949, while saying hello to a friend from the second-floor girls’ bathroom window of her dorm. Graham was with this friend and wanted to meet her. Soon after he asked her out to fraternity parties and other gatherings. In April 1950, he invited her to canoe down the Red Cedar river on the MSC campus. Although it was still chilly Polly accepted. The canoe trip was captured in a photo shoot for the local Lansing Journal newspaper.

Polly decided to leave MSU at the ’50 -’51 winter break and move to Dallas to become a Braniff flight attendant. Her love for travel bloomed during this time as she flew to major cities in the U.S. and South America. Meanwhile, Graham, who didn’t know she had left school went to find her and continue their romance. In December 1952 he proposed to her. They were married April 18, 1953, at St. George’s Catholic Church in Chicago.

Graham had built a home in Marshall, Michigan for the newly married couple to live in and where their first child, Karen, was born. Polly’s love for the warm winters and growing Dallas area motivated the young family to move to Texas in March of 1956. Here her family was expanded with the births of Jeffrey, Gregory and Mary.

Polly had an artistic eye, reflected in her stylish clothes and in the design flair she displayed in decorating her home. She wrote poetry — mainly Haiku, loved to write children’s stories for her grandchildren, and painted in watercolor and oils. Through her days working for Braniff she met the aunt of a friend who was a professional seamstress. Aunt Bea made wedding gowns, ball gowns, and all sorts of fashionable clothing for women in the Dallas area. Aunt Bea and Polly had an endearing friendship developed during the many fittings for gowns, dresses and jackets Polly wore for various occasions from the 1950’s through the 1990’s.

Polly assisted Graham with his real estate development business by selecting the interior finishes for the townhomes and offices he built. She loved to entertain and planned wonderful dinner parties. Polly and Graham designed, built, decorated, or renovated seven homes located in Arlington; at Possum Kingdom Lake; Benton Harbor, Michigan; and Greers Ferry Lake, Arkansas. Polly was encouraged to submit her apricot jam made from her fresh Michigan supply and enter it in the homemade jam contest at the State Fair of Texas. She took home the blue ribbon.
While raising a family, Polly and Graham enjoyed taking trips alone or with their children or friends. They loved to go to Lake Michigan in the summers. They travelled to Mexico, Canada, South America, South Africa, Europe and numerous states in the U.S.

Polly had the opportunity to return to Braniff Airways as a volunteer. In exchange she received travel passes for the family. She took each of her children on a trip with her. Karen flew to New York City, Jeff flew to Washington, D.C., Greg flew to Ft. Lauderdale, and Mary flew to Chicago. In 1977 she obtained passes for Jeff and Greg to fly to Hawaii for a bicycle tour.

In December 1971, Graham, Polly, Karen, Jeff and Greg flew to South America. They flew to Quito, took the Tren Crucero train to Guayaquil, travelled on to Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Lima, Cuzco and finally Machu Picchu by train and in the back of a flatbed truck.

In 1975, as Braniff volunteers, Polly, Karen and Greg helped Vietnamese refugees from the resettlement camp at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas find their gates at DFW airport. Polly and Karen met a young boy named Loi who was traveling with two young men. A friendship began with Loi and the man caring for him which turned into several home visits. In time Loi came to live with Polly and Graham. Loi took Lyle as his American name and was adopted into the family.

Polly and Graham enjoyed seventy-one years of marriage —- a testament of their love and commitment and to their family. Polly is survived by her husband Graham, Karen & Al Maxwell, Jeffrey & Kathy Schadt, Gregory & Susan Schadt, Mary & Bruce Bevars, Lyle & Heather Schadt, eleven grandchildren, and ten great-grandchildren.