Diane Ruth Schaumann

Diane Ruth Deliniks Schaumann was born on August 2, 1933, in Waterbury, CT to Thomas and Ella
Deliniks. She died in Bridgeport, CT at the age of 89 on February 13, 2023.
A longtime resident of Norwalk, CT, she was the beloved wife of the late George R. Schaumann. She is
survived by her children George R. Schaumann Jr. (Joann), Kathrin J. Gaffney (Paul), and Thomas W.
Schaumann (Christine Begley); grandchildren Leah Gaffney, Ian Gaffney, Emma Schaumann, Julia
Schaumann, Alice Schaumann, and Owen Schaumann; her sister Audrey Delinks, and many cousins,
nieces and nephews.
Diane graduated from Pembroke College at Brown University in 1955, where in addition to her studies
she was one of the founding members of the women’s a cappella group The Chattertocks. Formed
initially as a distaff parody of the Brown men’s Jabberwocks chorus, the group achieved recognition,
recording vinyl discs and appearing on local television in Providence. (Today’s version of the troupe
continues on at Brown and is the university’s longest running all female a cappella company.)
After college she went to work at New York Life in Manhattan. A train commute into the city one day
led to a chance encounter with a New York Life coworker George Schaumann; their conversation led to a
relationship and marriage in 1957. They remained a devoted couple for over 60 years until George’s
passing in 2018.
Moving out of New York, Diane and George settled in Norwalk to raise their family.
As their children grew, Diane found time to pursue her passion for learning by continuing her own
studies at the University of Bridgeport. She became an accredited elementary educator and went on to
teach grade school and academically talented students in the Norwalk school system for many years.
Diane took a keen interest and great pride in her children’s and grandchildren’s accomplishments, and
her social orbit grew continuously through her support of the kids’ activities. Even after her own

children had graduated, she and George continued to attend Norwalk High School play and music
performances and sports, where she would almost always linger to chat with people she knew.
She was equally supportive of her students at Fox Run, Columbus, and the other schools where she
taught over the years. Walking through the annual Norwalk Oyster Festival with her could take hours as
she stopped frequently to sample the food, appreciate the music and crafts, and greet every friend and
former pupil she encountered.
She remained a faithful parishioner at St. Jerome’s Catholic Church in Norwalk for as long as she could
continue to attend mass. She volunteered in a number of parish community activities and charitable
causes.
Along with teaching, Diane kept a wide variety of interests throughout her life. She enjoyed and
encouraged reading, travel, art, music, visiting historic places, gardening, trying out new recipes, tennis
and paddle tennis, golf, shopping, and any form of socializing—from throwing or attending parties to
impromptu conversations in any store checkout line. Wherever she traveled, she sought out local
artisans and brought back handmade mementos of her trips. She was a big fan of Jeopardy! and Blue
Bloods on TV.
Diane especially loved the seashore and beach visits up and down the U.S. coasts, including annual
family vacations on Cape Cod. But her happiest place was probably her own screened-in porch and back
yard, feeling the sun on her face and spending time with her kids and grandkids—and anyone else’s kids,
who were always invited to come use the pool and have a snack and a drink.
A celebration of her life will be held at Raymond Funeral Home, 5 East Wall St., Norwalk, at 12:00 noon
on Saturday, April 29, 2023. (https://www.norwalkfh.com; 203-847-7291)
In lieu of flowers, the family encourages any donations in her memory to the Norwalk Education Foundation,                                                   125 East Ave. 3rd floor, Norwalk, CT 06851. norwalkeducation.org