Amenie Phillips Schweizer, 85, of Lexington, Virginia passed away at home in the afternoon on Saturday, March 16, 2019.

She was born December 26, 1933 in Washington, D.C., to Col. Donald Boyer Phillips and Mary Gunnell Phillips.

A military family, they lived at multiple bases throughout her childhood before settling at a farm in Frederick, Maryland.

Mrs. Schweizer attended Mary Baldwin College and transferred to the University of Maryland, where she studied English and mathematics and was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. At the University of Maryland she met her husband, Hans Schweizer, a fellow student and the son of her German professor. After two years of courtship, they married on June 12, 1954. They raised their four children together and lived in 13 different places throughout their 54 years of marriage, primarily in Virginia, Florida, and central Mexico.

In 1976, they settled in Lexington, where for a few years Mrs. Schweizer owned and operated Double Take Books, a second-hand bookstore. Mr. Schweizer, an architect, designed and built a home for them on Little House Mountain where they lived from 1990 to 2007 – a home which Mrs. Schweizer named Long Meadow and Mr. Schweizer named Edelweiss. Mrs. Schweizer enjoyed spending time with family on the mountain, hiking, picking wild wine berries, tending her flower and vegetable garden, and observing and documenting bird life.

A devout Anglican, she and her husband were founding members of St. Paul's Anglican Church, which Mr. Schweizer designed and built, and where they both sang in the choir. Mrs. Schweizer served on the vestry, the altar guild, and as treasurer for many years.

Possessing a brilliant mind and entrepreneurial spirit, she was deeply involved in numerous family businesses, including the Blue Phoenix Cafe in Lexington and Sassafras Pet Spa in New Smyrna Beach, Fla. A clever woman, Mrs. Schweizer had a sharp wit and a lively sense of the ridiculous. She was an avid puzzler, a competitive player of Rummikub and Angry Birds, and a great reader who could quote Shakespeare from memory. A beautiful writer and poet, she was too modest to describe herself as such.

The embodiment of grace and unconditional love, her kind and generous spirit permeated everything she touched. She loved being a mother and thrilled to watch the lives of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren unfold. A natural peacemaker, she was the mortar that held the family together, the beacon that drew everyone around the dining room table. A Southern gentlewoman with deep Virginia lineage, she was an inquisitive, courageous, and adventurous spirit who exhibited both patience and resilience. As the depth of loss is equal to the depth of love, Mrs. Schweizer will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved her.

Mrs. Schweizer was preceded in death by her husband, Hans Schweizer.

She is survived by her children, Amenie Kristine Schweizer, Maurya Lynn Schweizer, Heidi Louisa Schweizer, Bruce Nelson Schweizer and his wife, Heidi Bouton Schweizer; her siblings, Natalie Hughes and Bruce Phillips; her granddaughters, Amenie Nelson Hopkins, Megan Greer Mitchell, Raennah Lorne Mitchell, Page Schweizer Davenport, and Brittany Leigh Schweizer; and her great-grandchildren, Harper Corwyn Mitchell-Sheedy, Braiden Xander Davenport, Hudson Charles Davenport, Walker Nelson Davenport, and Willow Bodaway Bartley.

Mrs. Schweizer's remains will be interred beside her husband's and alongside the graves of her ancestors at The Fork Church Cemetery in Hanover County. A memorial service will be held at St. Paul's Anglican Church in Lexington at a future date.