Lela Schnorf

BIOGRAPHY

Schnorf was born in Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio, USA, on 29 November 1905, to parents H. Marshall O’Callaghan and Amanda Wieland. She survived a serious car accident in 1924 when she was 19, getting pinned under a car along Collingwood Boulevard and breaking multiple vertebrae in her back. She graduated from Waite High School in Toledo in 1924. Following graduation, she took on a secretarial position at Auto Lite, working for executives Claude Pound and A. E. Buckenburg. Upon learning of an opening at Collin, Norton, Miller, and Young—a brokerage firm in downtown Toledo—she applied and was hired as the executive secretary for Harry E. Collins, the Managing Partner of the firm. Around that time, the country experienced the Wall Street Crash of 1929. After serving five years as Mr. Collins’s personal secretary, she left the firm to marry the young attorney Brandon Grey Schnorf (1904–1977). The couple had two sons: Brandon (1931–2020) and David Marshall (1937–2006).

During the years of Lela and Brandon’s marriage, they cultivated a shared interest in gardening and enjoyed playing bridge with their circle of friends at the Inverness Country Club. They also traveled together abroad, exploring Europe. Both were active members of the Toledo Rose Society for an extended period. Lela continued her membership with the Toledo Bar Association Auxiliary. She was later the oldest living member of the Inverness Country Club, having joined in 1941.

Even in her centenarian years, she remained an avid reader, staying informed of current events, whether they were local or national politics. She voted in every election campaign, including the Presidential election in 2016. She stayed well-informed about financial markets, real estate markets, and all major sporting events.

Schnorf passed away at the Lakes of Monclova senior living community in Monclova, Lucas County, Ohio, USA, on 2 April 2017, at the age of 111 years, 124 days. She was survived by her son Brandon, six grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren.