Melany Luella Schmidt

Melany Luella Schmidt – her life’s course was charted during her formative years, with the wind filling her sails and guiding her through life’s shoals; and when her voyage was completed, with her siblings and the addition of a son by her side, the sails were lowered and she drifted peacefully to beyond the horizon. Melany, age 63, of Shady Side, Maryland, passed on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at Luminis Anne Arundel Hospital.

Melany (and her twin brother Ted) was born on April 4, 1963, in Detroit, Michigan; she was the daughter of the late Theodore and Anne Schmidt. She was raised on a sailboat with her brother, Ted, her little sister, Dona, and their dog, Ryan. Through sheer determination and courageousness, she left the Virgin Islands, put herself through college, and started her own business. She was a senior proposal manager and a government contractor. You could often find Melany on her golf cart with her dog, Cooper, boasting about her son, Rourke, with neighbors while watching the sunset. She loved spending time on the water and eating Maryland crabs with her family.

Melany is survived by son, Rourke Smith, twin brother, Ted Schmidt, sisters, Dona Schmidt and Linda Spiel, niece and nephews Teddy, Ricky, Corey, and Christopher Schmidt, William Costlow, Christopher Spiel, and Vicki Sanchez, and great nieces, Madelyn, Savanna, and Emerie Sanchez.

A Celebration of Life will be held in Pasadena, with a view that she loved so much – the Chesapeake Bay; on Friday, June 12th, beginning at 2:00 p.m. A full luncheon will be provided. Please contact family members to RSVP. Sympathies may be expressed in the form of flowers (to be delivered to Dona Schmidt, 5829 Woodbine Rd, Woodbine, MD 21797) or contributions to the National Bernese Mountain Dog Rescue Network. https://www.nationalbmdrescuenetwork.org.

The Jeffrey N. Zumbrun Funeral Home, 6028 Sykesville Road, Eldersburg, Maryland is assisting the family with funeral arrangements. Interment will be private. Online condolences may be offered at www.jnzumbrunfuneralhome.com