Mrs. Micheline Schoppenhorst

Micheline Schoppenhorst of Roswell, Georgia, also known as “Mickey” by friends and “Mimi” by family, passed away on Sunday May 22, 2022. Family members were with her when she died peacefully from complications of a heart attack. Micheline was born in 1936 in the beautiful Bordeaux region of France. Her parents, Maria and George Couzinet, ran a busy store. She often helped, developing a solid business sense that served her throughout her life. When she was a child, her family survived the Nazi occupation of their town. Her spirited mother found ways to help hidden members of their community, often at grave risk. This greatly influenced Micheline, who later took big risks in standing up to racism. She prevailed and could be very disarming with her beauty, honesty and lack of fear. When she first met her soulmate and future husband, Albert, she was working as a secretary at the United States Army base near Bordeaux, where he was stationed. They fell in love quickly and married in 1956. Her first home as a military wife in the U.S. was in Lawton, Oklahoma, where Albert was training at Fort Sill. She sometimes joked that she traded scenic vineyards for tumbleweeds in rural Oklahoma. But the culture shock did not deter her. The two overcame many challenges and had been married 66 loved-filled years when she died. Micheline said her number one goal in life was to be a mother. A year after marrying she had her first child, daughter Cathy. Six years later she gave birth to a son, Michael. She took them to France to bond with their rich French heritage. Her beloved grandson, Andrew Schoppenhorst, also took trips with Micheline and Albert to France, Spain and around the United States. She loved her native France. But Micheline was deeply proud to be an American citizen, having moved here at age 19. In the 1960s she had the extraordinary privilege of working as a secretary at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where she sometimes caught glimpses of the astronauts in training. She described those years as magical. She often came home with stories about the excitement she felt in this workplace. She marveled at how a little girl from a small town in France would someday grow up to witness history in the making at the bustling space center. A month before her death, during a family trip to Florida, her children and husband took her back to the space center and she reminisced happily along the way. Micheline’s many friends in the United States and Europe found ways to keep in touch, some on a daily basis. She was active with the Forever Young Friends elder group at Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. She enjoyed Sunday dinners with family and usually won at Rummy after fixing a great meal. Her family felt so lucky. She is survived by her husband, Albert Schoppenhorst, her daughter, Cathleen Schoppenhorst Hulbert, her son, Michael Schoppenhorst, and her grandson, Andrew Schoppenhorst. Andrew, along with his partner, Harriet Thompson, brought her the utmost joy and were the “cherry on top” of her life, as she wrote in a note to her family. The family will receive friends at Northside Chapel on Tuesday, May 31, 2022 from 12:00pm until 2:00pm, followed by a funeral service in the chapel. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her honor to St. Vincent de Paul Society in care of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church.

Mrs. Micheline Schoppenhorst

November 18, 1936 - May 22, 2022