Lisa Ann (Schroeder) Mayes

Lisa Ann Mayes, nee Schroeder, of Westville, Indiana, passed away Tuesday, March 19, 2019, at home following a long illness. She was born July 30, 1959, in Valparaiso, Indiana, the daughter of John and Viola Schroeder.

Lisa was a graduate of Kankakee Valley High School in Wheatfield, Indiana; and the Ray Vogue School of Art in Chicago. She worked for many years as a graphic artist for several newspapers, including The Eagle in College Station, Texas; The Vidette-Messenger in Valparaiso; the Times of Northwest Indiana in Munster; The News-Dispatch in Michigan City, Indiana; and the La Porte County Herald-Argus in La Porte, Indiana. Most recently she had been a freelance graphic artist.

Lisa was a gifted artist and designer, who enjoyed painting, crafting, party planning and decorating; interior design and fashion design. She was an avid flower and vegetable gardener, who was most proud of her day lilies, irises and tomatoes. She loved dogs, especially her longtime pet Midnight; and also enjoyed genealogy, photography and music.

She was always more concerned for others than herself, and volunteered for many years with the Relay for Life of Greater Valparaiso. She was a member of the Westville Historical Society, and a former member of the Westville Town Council and Westville Park Board.

On July 29, 1989, in Valparaiso, she married Jeff Mayes, who survives. Also surviving are her mother, Viola Schroeder of Wheatfield, Indiana; a daughter, Allison Mayes of Chicago; a step-daughter, Shawna Mayes Smith of Hobart, Indiana; a sister, Pamela Schroeder of Chicago; a brother, John Michael Schroeder of Tustin, California; and step-grandchildren Nathaniel Smith, Collin Smith, Lexi Smith and Amara Martinez of Hobart. She was preceded in death by her father.

Visitation will be 4-8 p.m. Thursday, March 21, at Newhard Funeral Home in Westville, with rosary service at 7 p.m.; and 9-10 a.m. Friday at the funeral home, with burial at 11 a.m. at Sorrowful Mother Cemetery in Wheatfield. Lisa was especially proud of improvements made to Prairie Meadow Park during her term on the Westville Town Council, including the new shelter which she designed and secured funding for. Memorials should be made to the Westville Park Department, c/o Westville Town Hall, P.O. Box 275, Westville, IN 46391

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