Mary Lou Schaffer

Mary Lou Schaffer, 77, went to be with the Lord on Wednesday September 25, 2024, in Hobe Sound, FL. Mary Lou was born the third of six children to parents Vincent and Marie Imbriani, in Roslyn Heights, NY. The family spent their early years in Williston Park, NY and in 1952, when Mary Lou was five years old, the family relocated to Miami, FL. Mary Lou grew up in Miami, attending elementary school at St. James Catholic School and then attending high school at Notre Dame Academy. After graduating from high school, Mary Lou moved to Ft. Lauderdale and, at 23 years old, she married Bernard Nelson and had her two children, Christopher and Jennifer. She would later meet and marry the love of her life, Harry Schaffer- her late husband of 42 years. They were married in 1976, as they combined Mary Lou’s two and Harry’s three children. In 1986, they moved their family from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Jupiter, FL where they lived for 37 years. After losing her husband in 2018, Mary Lou would move to her home in Hobe Sound, Florida. Mary Lou was extremely hardworking from a very young age and this work ethic followed her over the course of her lifetime. She enjoyed learning bookkeeping and accounting in her young adult life and spent most of her professional career working alongside her husband Harry in the construction industry. Mary Lou faced numerous challenges in life and was forced to learn resilience in the face of adversity many times over. She was a natural born leader. She particularly enjoyed helping others with their business endeavors and enjoyed helping her friends and family succeed in whatever they chose to pursue. Mary Lou was also a nature enthusiast and enjoyed fishing. She spent a lot of time traveling and exploring throughout her life. But what she most enjoyed was spending time entertaining and visiting with her family. Mary Lou will be forever remembered by her family and friends for her generous heart. She was a loving and devoted mother, sister, grandmother, great-grandmother, wife and friend. She will be deeply missed by those whose lives she touched and whose lives she helped to make better. Mary Lou was preceded in death by her parents, Vincent and Mary Imbriani; her husband, Harry Schaffer; her brother, Ralph Imbriani; and, her son-in-law, Doug Mischler. Mary Lou leaves behind her children, Chris (Meredith) Nelson; Jennifer (James) Sransky; Karen Mischler; Kathy (Steve) Hodges; and, Harry (Sue) Schaffer; her 16 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. A Visitation will be held on Friday, October 4th from 4:00pm-7:00pm at Taylor & Modeen Funeral Home in Jupiter, FL. The Prayer Service will be held at 5:00pm. A Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, October 5th at 10:30am at St. Christopher Catholic Church, in Hobe Sound, FL. The Burial will directly follow the Mass, at 12:00pm, at Riverside Memorial Park, in Tequesta, FL. For those who wish to leave a donation in Mary Lou's name please consider St. Jude Children's Hospital https://www.stjude.org ; American Cancer Society https://donate.cancer.org ; or American Lung Association https://action.lung.org