‘Grande dame’ remembered

In late September 1986, friends of Florence “Floss” Schumacher said, she found herself frantically working on seating arrangements the night before the county’s biggest gala.

It was the opening of the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, and Schumacher had chaired the committee slated to put on “the party to end all parties.”

“She had so many friends she promised wonderful seats, but there were only so many seats,” laughed Jan Landstrom, Schumacher’s longtime friend.

Landstrom is like countless others who have counted Schumacher as a friend over the years. Schumacher, whose health had been declining in recent years, died July 17 in Morro Bay. She was 86.

“She was dynamic,” said Gayle Anderson, whom Schumacher mentored when she lived in Orange County. “She was such a leader and an inspiration to all of us blessed enough to have her take us under her wing.”

Schumacher’s wings must have been wide, because after moving to Newport Beach with her husband and children in 1964, she seemed to take the entire Orange County art scene under them.

She was instrumental in bringing together the arts through her support for the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, the Pacific Chorale and Pacific Symphony and the Opera Pacific, which has since closed.

“Wherever she went, she was enthusiastic about the arts,” Landstrom said. “We really are grateful to her for all she has done.”

“One would never conceive that Floss would take a day off. She worked a seven-day week,” said Judy Morr, executive vice president for the arts center. “She was a larger-than-life person. She was filled with an energy and enthusiasm and a love of life.”

“She was just tireless,” said Tim Dunn, director of public relations at the center.

When Schumacher moved to Las Vegas, she brought the opera with her.

“We referred to her as the grande dame,” Anderson said.

Even with countless friends and rubbing elbows with Orange County’s high society during the most exclusive soirees, friends said Schumacher remained down to earth.

“Floss had a charismatic and powerful personality that you couldn’t help but follow,” Morr said. “She was fun, she had a great sense of humor. What set her apart was her deep caring for other humans.”

She continued, “Every day was approached as it was going to be the most special day created. She helped make it that way.”