WASHINGTON - Dorothea Ruth Schmitt peacefully passed away on March 23, 2025, at The Homestead in Cushing, Maine at the age of 91. "Dot" as she was known to friends and family, was born on September 5, 1933, in Passaic, New Jersey to Swiss immigrants. She was raised in Ridgewood, New Jersey where she attended The School of the Holy Child in Suffern, New York before moving on to the University of Pennsylvania to obtain an education degree. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, she moved to New York City to begin her career in New York City public schools where she taught for over 30 years. Dot lived a very vibrant life. Strong willed, fiercely independent and charitable, she also had a strong sense of wanderlust - perhaps ignited by a family trip to Switzerland. Throughout her life she explored various parts of the world, like Africa, Mexico and Russia, but her greatest adventure was to Maine where she discovered a love of the state. She went on to buy several acres of land to build her dream home that she designed herself and later retired to. Dot also enjoyed gardening and participating in her church choir. She is especially remembered for her enthusiastic singing of the Hallelujah chorus. Dot is preceded in death by her parents William and Ruth (Gutzwiller) Schmitt and brother Martin Schmitt. She is survived by her sister Elizabeth Griffin of Bowie, Maryland, sister-in-law Therese Schmitt of Charles City, Iowa and numerous nieces and nephews. Visitation will be held Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at 10am at St. Denis Church (298 Grand Army Road Whitefield, Maine) followed by a mass of Christian burial at 11am with burial afterward in Calvary Cemetery. If you would like to honor Dot's memory, donations can be made to Little Sisters of the Poor https://littlesistersofthepoor.org/donate/ Arrangements and guidance are in the care of Staples Funeral Home and Cremation Care, 53 Brunswick Avenue, Gardiner, Maine. Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the Staples Funeral Home website, www.staplesfuneralhome.com