Eve was born (Eva Schimpf) to Maria and Michael Schimpf in Tovarnik, a small town in Croatia near the Danube River on September 4, 1939. Eve was the third child in a family of three children. Nick was the older brother, and Anne was the middle sister. During WWII, Eve's family fled Croatia as refugees in 1944 and moved to Austria where they lived for seven years before immigrating to the United States in 1951.
When the Schimpf family came to the USA, they eventually settled in Milwaukee on N34th Street where Eve graduated from Milwaukee North High school in 1958. When Eve became a U.S. Citizen, she changed her first name from Eva to Eve. Shortly after graduating, Eve fell in love and married Frank Schwarzmann on May 3, 1958, who immigrated from Germany in 1956. Not long after their wedding, Frank was drafted by the United States army and was sent to Fort Leonard Wood in central Missouri for a two-year stint. Eve's first child, Michael, was born there in 1959. Two more children followed, John in 1961 and Lisa in 1963.
The Schwarzmann family eventually settled down on a 5-acre home site in Colgate, Wisconsin where the family home was built in 1968. In 1975, the Schwarzmann family started a small apple orchard that had wonderful golden delicious apples and other varieties that Eve and her mother sold at farmer's markets. For many years Eve worked as a dispatcher at Tews Lime and Cement and later for LaFarge Corp when it purchased the Tews business.
Eve loved to travel with her husband to Europe and out west to the Rockies and Alaska. She loved nature and was very fond of the Lake Superior area and Porcupine Mountains of Upper Michigan. Frank and Eve had a wide circle of friends and acquaintances in the German-American community and were long time members of the Schwabenhof in Menomonee Falls. Both Frank and Eve loved to sing in choruses associated with the German-American community. Eve sang soprano in the Damenchor for many years and was particularly fond of her trips to Europe with the choral club.
Eve was a fabulous cook and baker. Christmas cookies were as beautiful as they were delicious and incredibly diverse. Very few restaurant meals ever tasted as good as Eve's cooking, especially the feasts set out for the holidays surrounded by immaculate decorations. Eve also loved listening to classical music such as Beethoven and Mozart and reading books.
What made Eve so special was her unbounded love and devotion to her family and friends. She was gentle, kind, and had the patience and wisdom to listen first before making judgments. She made friends easily and those friendships lasted a lifetime. Even friends that didn't know her for very long became quite attached and devoted to her.
Eve is survived by son Michael (Sharon) - Lake Villa, Ill., son John, - Minocqua, WI, daughter Lisa Fitzwilliams – West Bend, WI. grandchildren – Shelly Smekens (Max King) - Gurney, Ill., Crystal Brown & (Jason) - Waianae, Ha., Sam Fitzwilliams, - Denver Co., great grandchildren – Riley, Lily, Levi (Shelly) and Makai and Alana (Crystal) as well as five nieces and eight nephews.
Visitation will be held on Sunday, August 2, 2026, at Schmidt & Bartelt Funeral Home (N84 W17937 Menomonee Ave, Menomonee Falls, WI 53051) from 10:30 am until time of service at 12 pm.