Harriet B. Schroeder

Harriet (Holly) Blanton Schroeder of Longmeadow, recently Easthampton, and earlier Ridgefield, CT died August 15, 2023. She graduated from Smith College in 1953 and having written her senior thesis on the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1952 was thrilled to take a job resettling refugees and immigrants in the Netherlands. This work was an enduring passion to which she continually returned, working abroad and here, for Church World Service and other nonprofits. She married a Dutchman she met on a transatlantic flight. They raised two daughters in a centuries-old Cape where she planted hundreds of hemlock trees and daffodils on the south facing slope. There were cats, dogs, local democratic committee meetings and volunteer projects. The most significant of which were the annual Barlow Mountain Elementary School bookfair to introduce children’s book authors to students to make reading and writing exciting, and the River Project for elementary students to explore and appreciate local rivers and their ecology, including eels in tanks which often lived at the house. Born to Harriet and Alexander Blanton in 1932, the youngest of three and only daughter, she was raised on reading, gardening, canoeing, and animals. There were dogs, hens, sheep and a pet duck. During her teens, she taught swimming, sailing and canoeing at a North Carolina girls’ camp. Over the years, she found deep community in her 12-Step groups and with friends at the Rhode Island beach she had been going to since she was five. She remained a devoted Smith alumna and was thrilled to participate in her 70th reunion this past May. She loved being back in the Valley and taking car rides, especially when they ended with ice cream. Anyone along would learn local geology. She adapted well to living in a continuing care community, was a champ at word games, even as her memory diminished, and had a surprisingly good voice for singalongs. She was predeceased by both brothers, her former husband, and her stepgranddaughter, Kate. She is survived by: Alexandra Risley Schroeder, her husband, John Risley and stepgrandchildren, Matt and Mary; Susanna Brown, her husband, Mike and granddaughter, Avery; stepchildren, Rolf, Eric and Monique Schröder; and beloved nieces and nephews, Harriet, Doris, Alexander, Forest, Dana, and Spencer. In lieu of flowers, a gift to Welcome Home Northampton to support refugee resettlement in western Massachusetts would honor her passion. ( http://welcomehomenorthampton.org/donations/ designate in memory of H Schroeder). New England Funeral & Cremation Center, 25 Mill Street, Springfield, MA has been entrusted with the arrangements. Please visit Harriet’s memorial page at www.nefcc.net for expressions of sympathy.