‘A positive influence on everybody’: Family remembers former North Central teacher

At 83 years old, retired teacher Stephanie Schrimshire was as active as could be.

She rode her bike all over Spokane. She ran, hiked and swam. She even sledded.

Schrimshire died last Friday after being hit by a car just after noon while walking on Southeast Boulevard near East 25th Avenue.

She spent her early years living on a ranch in Thompson Falls, Montana, before her family relocated to Spokane, where she grew up and became a French and Spanish teacher at North Central High School. Eventually she became the head of the foreign language department.

Schrimshire had a knack for languages and a love of learning with thousands of books all over her home.

“She is just brilliant,” said Mary Schrimshire, her daughter-in-law. “She was a wealth of knowledge.”

During the summers, Schrimshire would take her sons Tad and Ben on long trips abroad to keep up her language skills.

Schrimshire’s grandson, Theo, said what made his grandmother a great teacher was the respect she showed her students.

“She always had a great response to any question that I could come up with,” Theo said. “She was always very kind to every student and she would treat everyone’s question and opinion with high regard.”

After 50-plus years at Spokane Public Schools, Schrimshire retired in 2003 but continued to substitute teach frequently for the next 17 years.

“She tried getting to know them even if she was just there for a day,” Theo said.

Tad remembered his mother making a slideshow from their family trips abroad and often disregarding the planned lesson as a substitute to instead give students an informal look at experiencing other cultures.

“She was kind of like a mentor in the kids lives,” Tad said.

Tad remembers the great advice and encouragement to try new things she gave not only her family but students and friends as well.

“Your mother tells you things, of course, that you never forget,” Tad said.

Schrimshire encouraged Tad, who now owns a landscaping business, to get into gardening. Her grandson, Thaniel, 23, works in Detroit and is currently in the process of buying a house at his grandmother’s suggestion.

Tad said he often hears stories of former students, now teachers themselves, who went to school for teaching at Schrimshire’s suggestion.

“I’m sure she has dealt out a lot of advice to teenagers over the years,” Tad said.

Schrimshire would frequently get calls from former students asking her to attend their college graduations and weddings. She always said yes, Tad said.

Everyone seemed to know Schrimshire, a fact that often embarrassed Tad and Ben as teens.

“We couldn’t walk with her in public, my brother and I, we would keep our distance because a crowd would gather,” Tad said.

Despite being retired, Schrimshire stayed busy. She volunteered with Friends of the Library and continued to travel and recreate.

“So many people knew her as the lady who rode her bike,” Tad said.

For more than 30 years, Schrimshire had a route she would do in Lincoln Park, near where she was killed.

“Anybody that frequents that area would know who she was,” Tad said.

In the summer it was running, biking and daily swims in Lake Coeur d’Alene, right at the mouth of the Spokane River, Mary said.

But in the winter, she would go sled down the pond road in the park. For the last five decades, she had come to the park to ice skate, but as she aged sledding was easier.

“She had to keep up this sledding image,” Tad said. “It was kind of a funny thing that she prided herself on.”

Once Schrimshire became interested in an activity, she became very dedicated.

“She was very dedicated on these sorts of things,” Mary said. “Once she started something you couldn’t break her of it, even if it was impractical.”

Schrimshire’s family was used to worrying about her riding her bike late at night and walking near busy streets. Tad said she had been hit by a car before along with being attacked by a Rottweiler.

While teaching at North Central, Schrimshire would often stay late, riding her bike home after dark.

“We spent a lot of time worrying about her because she would stay late at school and she would ride her bike home at 12 or 2 in the morning,” Tad said.

After the accident last week, Schrimshire was taken to the hospital, where her heart kept beating for another 44 minutes despite significant damage, Mary said.

“She kept fighting because she was trying to stay alive” Mary said.

“She was an example of what a strong 83-year-old heart might look like,” Tad said.

The driver of the vehicle that hit Schrimshire is cooperating with police, according to Sgt. Terry Preuninger. The investigation is ongoing and no charges have been filed.

The Schrimshire family said that area of Southwest Boulevard has concerned them for years.

“The spot where she died was such a hazardous spot,” Tad said. “There was no protection whatsoever. You can reach your hand out and get a speeder at 40 miles an hour.”

While the loss was unexpected, with many friends calling and saying “We never thought she would die,” Tad said he feels lucky to have been able to be active with his mother right up until the end.

In March, Tad, his brother Ben and Schrimshire went for their annual hiking trip together in the Southwestern United States.

The trio had debated whether to travel with the COVID-19 pandemic just starting in the U.S. but decided since they would be outside the majority of the trip it would be rather safe.

Tad said he is forever grateful they got that last trip in.

“How lucky are we to get to play with our mom?” Tad said. “We just really had our mom right up until the last day.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the Schrimshire family has postponed a celebration of life. However a scholarship has a been established in Schrimshire’s name through the North Central Alumni Association. Donations can be made online at www.northcentralalumni.org/educational-foundation.