Maria K. Shoemaker
Wife, Mother, Fitness Instructor and Grandparent

Woodstock, VT – Maria K. Shoemaker, 88, died Monday December 6, 2021 at Merten's House in Woodstock, VT.

She was born January 31, 1933, in Rosenheim, Germany a daughter of Wilhelm and Katharina Grosser. Following her father's death, she was raised by her mother and stepfather Rudolph Riefler. Maria grew up in Germany and following her schooling met and fell in love with Carl Shoemaker while he was serving in the US Army in Germany. They were married June 18, 1954, in Brenerhaven, Germany, and started their family with a son and twin daughters 13 months apart. Maria, while living on various military bases, would always provide a strong base of her own for her family. She was a wife and mother that always put the needs of her family first. After Carl's twenty-year Army career, the family settled in Windsor, VT in 1969 with a fourth child part of the family. Maria could always be counted on to provide for bake sales, volunteer for trips, provide costumes for class plays and would always be the perfect host when the kids wanted friends over, provided they knew to take their shoes off as soon as they entered the house.

As the children grew older, Maria made time for herself as she entered the next phase of her life that was centered around fitness. First running became a passion for her, no doubt the perfect way to find solitude, but also a way to satisfy a competitive spirit. She loved the process of preparing for races, which consistently produced winning times in her age division. Her favorite races for many years were part of the Bonnie Bell Mini Marathons, a 10K just for women. Maria truly blossomed in her love of exercise when she entered a health club aptly named the Fountain of Youth in White River Junction, VT. Soon she moved from being a participant in the classes to a fitness instructor herself. At the start of this career leotards and leg warmers dominated the wardrobe and she spent hours producing her own mixed tapes at home to provide music for her killer classes. She welcomed newcomers to classes and made them feel part of the process, but her regulars knew when a man stepped into class it was going to be a hard one as she made sure he felt pain by the time class was over and if he came back for a second class, he was part of the group. Twenty years later she was best known for holding classes for water aerobics that centered on keeping seniors active as she entered her sixties and started a program at the new Mt. Ascutney Fitness Center in Brownsville. Through this whole period, she was provided support and encouragement by Carl, as he was the best support crew for her races and he himself felt the power that Maria, his fountain of youth, provided to him.

She continued to support her children the best way she could and that was shown through her and Carl's love of being grandparents and then great-grandparents. They loved attending the kids' sporting activities, plays, camping in the RV and after helping them get down the mountain on skis at first, soon they were yelling "wait for us". She and Carl continued their love of travel later in life and many miles were spent on the road in the RV or exploring countries they had not seen before. They moved to Ascutney in 2008 where she became active in the Happy Homemakers and Red Hat Society.  Even after her stroke Maria pushed herself to be as strong as ever as she continued to exercise, and make sure the holiday family gatherings were hosted at their house. Carl passed in December 2017 and Maria moved to assisted living at Cedar Hill in Windsor where she kept very active. Unfortunately, many residents in long term care facilities felt the ravages of Covid without even having the virus themselves. One of the horrible side effects was the isolation residents went through. She moved to the Mertens House in Woodstock, VT in May of this year. She loved to sit in the sun and enjoy the beautiful gardens of the Homestead. She died peacefully in her sleep under the loving care of the Mertens House staff and Dannielle of Bayada Hospice.

She is survived by her children Carl Shoemaker (Donna) of Merrimack, NH, Christina Dame of Weymouth, MA, Marietta Smith (Eric) of Jacksonville, NC and Peter Shoemaker (Julie) of Woodstock, VT; grandchildren Bradley, Lauren and Chelsea Shoemaker, Sabrina Parsons, Colby Dame, Matthew and Andrew Smith, Elliott, Alden and Claudia Shoemaker, and seven great-grandchildren. Her death was preceded by her two brothers, Wilhelm and Erich Grosser; and a sister, Rudolfine Dorfhuber. She is survived by her two nieces, Elke Dorfhuber and Karin Laubert all of Germany.

Private services will be held at the convenience of the family. Carl and Maria spent many days on Mount Ascutney skiing and hiking and in honor of Maria please feel free to donate to Ascutney Outdoors, PO Box 101, Brownsville, VT 05037 . Condolences to Maria's family may be made in an online guestbook at knightfuneralhomes.com .