Gary Louis Schmauder

I like to tell people that my parents were Don Rickles and Joan Rivers. And for some reason, people found that plausible. My real biological parents were Rudy and Eleanor (Tiefenthaler) Schmauder of Davenport, WA.

Though I was born in Spokane, my growing up years all took place in wonderful Davenport. This was a place where most of my classmates and myself attended school together for all 12 years. Not only that, but our Methodist Sunday School provided the opportunity for some of us to spend 6 days a week together! I graduated from Davenport High School and went on to attend and graduate from Washington State University in Pullman, WA in 1976.

My working career was a mess and outside of my time working at the Lincoln County Assessor’s Office in Davenport, I never felt quite adequate. I spent the bulk of my life searching for my place in this world and only in the final 24 years, did I find that in Longview, WA, beside my dear husband, Robert Mumford.

In 2019, I was diagnosed with Leiomyosarcoma, an aggressively soft tissue cancer. Somehow, I managed to survive 7+ years pain free. This began to change in June of 2026, when bone tumors began to form all over my body. These were painful. By this time the cancer had spread to my liver and lungs. I soon lost my ability to walk. My health quickly began to deteriorate and before long the one thing that I truly valued in my health was quality not quantity, had disappeared.

I made the personal decision to stop the inevitable pain that awaited me and Robert. In life, history was my passion and visiting in person with captive audiences. I always enjoyed sarcasm and was routinely reminded by others that it really wasn’t necessary. I was a member of the Longview Presbyterian Church.

I am survived in life by my dear husband, Robert Mumford and my three loved brothers: Allen, Glenn, and Don Schmauder. Nieces Jenny Keen and Desiree Schmauder. Also, by my nephews, Jeff and Toby Schmauder.

At 2:00 PM on November 14th, 2025, a memorial service will be held at the Longview Presbyterian Church at 3808 Pennsylvania Ave. Longview, WA.