Mardy Ann Schweitzer

Mardy Ann Schweitzer died at home on Friday, September 8, 2023, at the age of 69 after intensely fighting lung cancer for 2 years. Mardy was born October 3, 1953, to Irving Joseph Schweitzer and Zyra Shirley Schweitzer (nee. Schwartz) in Greenwood, Indiana. The family settled in Huntington, NY, where Mardy graduated from Half Hollow Hills High School in 1971. Before leaving for college Mardy participated in two student exchange programs – to Santiago, Chile as well as Guatemala City, Guatemala – to study Spanish, and thus begun her love for travel. Mardy attended Georgetown University and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Language and Linguistics in 1975. She spent a year abroad in Madrid, Spain during her junior year and traveled across Europe while there. Upon graduation she returned to New York to work with Irving at his construction company. However, New York winters were no longer tolerable and during the second snowstorm of 1977 she bought a one-way train ticket to California. After traveling up and down the coast she settled in Santa Cruz and worked for Landbridge Shipping, beginning her career in shipping. Three years later she moved to Oakland, CA and met Kenneth Wayne Johnson. The two married on November 20, 1982. While working at Kam Container, Mardy transferred to Houston, TX and lived in the Medical Center while Wayne was treated for cancer. The year following his death, 1988, Mardy founded her first company, NIMA Transport. In 1990, she gave birth to her only child, and shortly thereafter moved to the suburbs of Houston. In 1993, after a split from her partner at NIMA, Mardy founded Horizon Shipping (later known as Horizon Auto Shipping) and continued to positively impact the shipping community. In 2013 Mardy earned a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Houston Clear Lake. Mardy became active in the local Jewish community as a member of the sisterhood and Sunday school teacher at Temple Beth Tikvah, as well as with the Chabad of the Bay Area. With the temple, as well as on her own and for business, Mardy continued to travel and explore the world. Mardy is preceded in death by her parents, Irving and Zyra Schweitzer, and sister, Randy Jo Baker. She is survived by her daughter, Sarah Schweitzer, son-in-law Brendan Turrell and grandson Max Turrell. She is also survived by nephew Ralph Fabrizio, aunt Rita Paron, and brother-in-law Sammy Baker. To make a memorial donation in Mardy's name, please visit: https://www.handinhandk12.org/donate/

Mardy Ann Schweitzer

October 3, 1953 - September 8, 2023