Mildred "Mickie" Schierman

Mildred “Mickie” Ann Pettet Schierman of Atlanta died on May 18, 2020 at the age of 88. She was preceded in death by her parents, John and Mildred (Murphy) Pettet, her brothers Jack and Bill, and her husband of 55 years, Louis Schierman. She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Ann and Joel Fowler; son and daughter-in-law, John and Hiroko Schierman; and grandchildren, Jacob and Molly Schierman.
Mickie was born on October 19, 1931 in Augusta, AK, and grew up in Poplar Bluff, MO, near the foothills of the Ozarks. Her father, John, had to quit school at 14 to support his family when his father died, but he always longed for an education. Mickie remembered, after she and her brother went to bed every night, her father studied their homework assignments. Perhaps his desire for knowledge inspired her life-long love for books and learning. She was the valedictorian of her senior class at Poplar Bluff High School, but didn’t expect to go to college until a mentor at the local newspaper where she worked helped her get a scholarship.
Mickie graduated from the University of Missouri in Columbia with a degree in journalism. Her early career began in Kansas City, MO, as the editor for AT&T publications. While working as the editor of the Carlyle Union-Banner in Carlyle, IL, she met her future husband, Louis Schierman, who operated a successful poultry business before embarking on a career in immunogenetic research. After living in New York for many years the family moved to Athens, GA, where Louis was on the University of Georgia faculty, and Mickie worked for the Athens-Banner Herald.

Mickie was a voracious reader, but she was especially fond of biographies, mysteries, and books on American history and politics. Always a collector of words and quotations, she copied this creed of a useful life from “A Continuity of Place and Blood” in one of her notebooks:
“To have a gift; to apply it joyfully; to welcome problems for what they can teach; to go boldly onto new ground so that, tomorrow, you will know something that you don’t know today.”
Mickie will be remembered for her kindness, her interest in people, her respect for the dignity of every human being, and for the unconditional love and support she gave to her family. Above all else, she loved being a mother and a grandmother and was happiest when her family was with her. She will be dearly missed.

The family thanks The Fountainview Center staff members, especially those in the east pavilion, for their care of Mickie in the last six years. A private service will be held at a future date. Memorial gifts may be made to The Little Shop of Stories https://littleshopofstories.indielite.org/gift-card (gift cards for Emmaus House children), The Fountainview Center , or to the charity of your choice.