Meet the next Loveland Valentine Lady

Loveland, Ohio – “Jeannie Shumaker embodies and lives all those wonderful characteristics and attributes we use to define the title of Valentine Lady.  And with her lifetime of giving and caring within the Loveland community, she is a most deserving candidate to represent Loveland as the 2021 Valentine Lady,” said Peggy Goodwin in her nomination letter for the 2021 Loveland Valentine Lady. Goodwin was the 2006 Loveland Valentine Lady.

On Tuesday morning this week, the Valentine Ladies met at the Loveland Museum Center to welcome and surprise the 2021 Valentine Lady – Jeannie Shumaker.  (Jeannie Shumaker is in the center photo above.)

Here is the full nomination letter…

If you’ve ever attended an event at the Loveland Museum Center, then you have most certainly met this delightful lady.  And once you’ve met her, Jeannie Shumaker’s warmth and engaging smile makes you feel like you’ve known her forever.  That was my experience a few years ago while volunteering for an event at the museum – both Jeannie and I arrived well before the others; we struck up a conversation and before long were chatting away like old friends while she steered me through the nuances of our tasks at hand.  

A lifelong Loveland resident, Jeannie has given of her time and talents to our community in so many ways – without fanfare but accomplishing so many great things along the way.  Jeannie spent 35 years as a Certified Medical Assistant, first with Dr. Sood here in Loveland, then later at Bethesda North.  The care and compassion she devoted to her patients pervades everything she does as evidenced by the many ways she has quietly served the Loveland community.

She gives very generously of her time to the Loveland Museum Center; pick most any event and you’ll find Jeannie’s name within the list of volunteers. And she actively supports the Museum by attending just about every activity and event offered.  She is currently one of the Docents who welcomes visitors to the Museum on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.  Over the years, she has also contributed quite a number of artifacts of local significance to the Museum’s collection.

Jeannie is a member of the Loveland Woman’s Club; in the past she has held the position of Treasurer as well as serving on the Ways and Means Committee.  One of her favorite projects was a hugely successful bridal show to raise funds for the scholarship program.  She vividly recalls her home being filled with bridal gowns as she collected items for the event.  She laughingly recalls her employer, Dr. Sood, not scheduling appointments that would conflict with Jeannie’s participation in Woman’s Club meetings!

Jeannie was actively engaged in getting libraries set up at the former Little Miami and Lloyd Mann schools – it requires quite a bit of work to get each book ready to go on the shelf, so this was no small feat.  Once established, she volunteered at those libraries every week helping the children select books and also reading to the kids.  Even today she’s still good at reading a book upside down!

Jeannie also volunteered in the schools, tutoring 1^st through 4^th graders (mostly little boys) in reading and social studies.  Her purse was always crammed full of socks, gloves and Kleenex to give to the kids who needed them.  She also assisted the school nurse in screening young girls for scoliosis.   And she was one of those treasured “room mothers” that we all fondly remember from our grade school days.

At Loveland United Methodist Church, Jeannie is a member of 2 Bible study groups.  She is also the “snack lady” during Vacation Bible School, coordinating this very popular part of the program. For years in preparation for the church’s annual holiday turkey dinners, Jeannie has baked the pies (from scratch!) to accompany the more than 400 dinners served every year.  And she’s ready to do it again this year!

If you check out Jeannie’s Facebook page, you’ll find no self-promotion there.  Instead her Facebook page is almost exclusively a showcase of dogs and cats available for adoption at area animal shelters.  (But she does slip in an occasional recipe to share with her friends!)  She volunteers weekly at the SPCA in Sharonville. When she signed up to help at the SPCA, 39 of the 40 volunteers specified they wanted to work with the dogs – so tender-hearted Jeannie opted to help with the cats and kittens.  Each week she cleans cages and launders the bedding – but most importantly she helps socialize the animals and assists people in choosing the perfect furry little companion for their families.

Jeannie is also deeply devoted to her family, and her care for them is second to none.  Years ago, while caring for her own family, Jeannie brought her two young nephews to live with her so their parents could focus their time and energy on caring for another young son who was hospitalized due to a serious injury.  

Jeannie Shumaker embodies and lives all those wonderful characteristics and attributes we use to define the title of “Valentine Lady.”  And with her lifetime of giving and caring within the Loveland community, she is a most deserving candidate to represent Loveland as the 2021 Valentine Lady.

Respectfully submitted by, 

Peggy Goodwin

Because of COVID, the schedule of events for the annual kick-off of the formal introduction of the new Valentine Lady and the unveiling of the 2021 Valentine Card at the Loveland Kroger store is a bit up in the air. Details will be announced by the Little Miami River Chamber of Commerce at a later date.