A longtime resident of Grand Lake and active volunteer in the community, Evelyn Schnittker died at Lutheran Hospital in Denver last Saturday.

Schnittker suffered from leukemia. Complications from chemotherapy led to pneumonia, according to friends. She was rushed to the Denver hospital on Friday.

Her passing took many by surprise.

“She was doing so good, she looked good. She was so happy,” said Grand Lake friend Melva Harrington.

“It was quite a shock,” said Kathy Means, who knew Schnittker through the Grand Lake Women’s Club. Schnittker had been a member of the club for at least 10 years and was a past president.

“At last month’s meeting, she appeared to be feeling so good. She was really a very active woman.”

Her involvement in the community didn’t stop at the Woman’s Club. She served as trustee on the Grand Lake town board from 1992 to 2000 and was affiliated with the Chamber of Commerce, either on its board of directors, as a volunteer or as an employee, since 1984. She was instrumental in attracting Snow Shoot to Grand Lake, according to former board member Ron Ellis.

She also could be seen welcoming new businesses to town as a red jacket-donned Grand Lake Ambassador.

She never shied from helping with town events, such as the Snowshoe Festival, and was an avid square dancer as part of Never Summer Squares. She was also a member at Stillwater Community Chapel.

She and her husband Delmar were former owners of the Big Horn Motel, which they sold in the mid-90s. Eventually, the couple opened the Lakeview Bed and Breakfast overlooking Shadow Mountain Lake.

“She was a good friend, a good person, always happy, always helpful ” a wonderful person,” Harrington said.

Funeral services were held in Pratt, Kan., on Tuesday, April 15. A local memorial service in her honor is scheduled for Wednesday, April 30, at Stillwater Community Church, followed by a reception in the fellowship hall.