Valgerda Schoenmann

Valgerda Celeste Schoenmann died peacefully in Pasadena on November 8, 2025, with her eldest granddaughter at her side. Val was born to Dr. Gilbert and Josephine Moore on March 27,1937 in La Jolla. She was raised in La Crescenta and graduated from Glendale High School. Continuing a long family line of educators, Val earned bachelor's and master’s degrees in education and taught in the Glendale Unified School District for 34 years. Always generous with her knowledge, Val especially enjoyed teaching literature and history. She was well-known for enhancing her lessons with artifacts from her travels to Europe, Asia and around the United States. Outside of the classroom, Val had fun being recognized by her many former students.

After retirement, Val lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As a docent at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, she shared her infectious appreciation of Native American culture with all who visited the museum. She also researched her family history and befriended distant cousins to learn more about her Icelandic heritage. Other favorite activities included decorating for all the holidays, organizing book clubs, gifting treasured books from her latest subject of interest such as archeology, psychology, or mythology, and teaching the next generations how to make Grammie Jo’s banana bread.

In her last years, Val moved back to Southern California where she continued her insatiable love of learning and enjoyed a wonderful group of friends at the Pasadena Highlands. Val was predeceased by her parents, daughter Valerie, granddaughter Christina and former husband Donn. She is survived by her son Stuart (Charlotte); daughters Celeste (Mark) and Beth Anna (Jordan); son-in-law John; grandchildren Colette (Mike), Valerie, Evan, Genevieve and Gabriel; and great-grandsons Freddie and Teddy; as well as her brother John and sister Frances. Val will be buried at Forest Lawn.