Thalia Ann Scheidler

Thayla Ann (Britt) Scheidler was born November 10, 1933, in Marion, Indiana, to a loving Irish family. With joyful, caring parents, twin, doting older brothers and a younger sister who adored her, Thayla was hard-wired to love life, to embrace every experience as an opportunity to learn, and to never shy away from a challenge. She graduated from Holy Cross School of Nursing in 1954 and St. Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana, in 1955, having collected friends of a lifetime along the way. They were of all races and beliefs, all treated as equal by this woman who happily claimed, “I don’t have a prejudiced bone in my body.” While still at St. Mary’s, Thayla had a blind date with Tom, the man who would become her husband and partner for nearly 56 years until his passing in 2011. One, two, three, four, five … six. The children came as easy as laughter and brought smiles to her face until her last day. Kathryn, Joe and Letti, Phil and Kelly, Mauri and Dan, Sam and Cathy, Kip and Kevin. The six became 11, and her smile grew larger. Like their parents, having fun came naturally to all six. Thayla loved when they had friends to the house, and she always said they were welcome to stay as late as they wished. Her only request, as she followed Tom to bed and the quarters bounced on the kitchen table, was that they “keep it to a dull roar.” Knowing that “you learn something new every day,” and that you “don’t have to do it, you get to do it,” Thayla embraced each day to the hilt, always with good friends in tow. There were Tom’s Marine Corps buddies and their wives. She had her friends Maryanne, Maribelle, Peg, Linda, Ro, and Kay. All were cherished and loved. “Make new friends, but keep the old; the new are silver, and the old are gold.” That was her motto and so she lived. Her heart seemed to have a limitless capacity to love. While her children brought her joy, Thayla soon learned that having grandchildren was pure bliss. And like Coke and her own children, she learned they came in a six-pack. Sarah, AJ, Olivia, Joseph, Caroline, Sam. They all learned to “touch everything,” that “it takes two to tango,” that every once in a while you simply “have to put on your thinking cap,” and that when crossing the street one should “hold the hand of someone you love.” Oh, and always, always “breast your cards.” Summarizing more than 83 years of a life, a life really well lived and filled to the gills with love, is not an easy task. And yet, regardless of how this obituary reads, Thayla would be pleased. She would read it, exclaim her praise, thank you sincerely, and give you a kiss. Then, with that ever-present smile on her face, she would turn her attention to the next item on her to-do list. There was no resting for this woman. There simply was no time. Until now. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Frankfort, Indiana, on July 3, 2017, at ten o’clock in the morning. Thayla absolutely loved flowers and gave them freely throughout her life, usually for no special reason. In celebration of Thayla’s life, her family suggests you buy a bouquet for a friend, new or old, and asks that you think of her as you do so.