Nikki L Schmitt

Nikki Lee Schmitt​​

June 26, 1979 to April 25, 2025

Nikki passed away on Friday, April 25, 2025, at age 45.She was survived by her mother, MaryEl (Swisher) Bugielski, stepfather, Gary Bugielski, and younger sisters Casey (Schmitt) Stepanek and husband Cory Stepanek, and Chelsey Schmitt and husband Josh Iwanonkiw.  Nikki is also survived by niece and goddaughter, Tyler Hubenthal, niece, Charlie Stepanek, and nephews, Ethan Hubenthal and Hunter Goralzick, grandmother June (Aufderheide) Schmitt, godmother and aunt Debbie (Schmitt) Jance, and loving aunts, uncles and cousins.  She was preceded in death by her husband, Vaughn Chronister, father, Paul E. Schmitt, grandfather Paul N. Schmitt, grandmother Eleanor (Scarlatelli) Swisher and grandfather Clark Swisher.

Nikki was a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh (2001) where she majored in Information Technology and where she was frequently on the Dean’s List.  Before that, she was a 1997 graduate of Baldwin High School.  

Nikki grew up in Whitehall but enjoyed most of her summers at Deep Creek Lake where she “mastered” in water skiing, snow skiing, swimming and boating.  She had her boating license at age 12 and could drive a car soon after.  In fact, when she was 14, it was discovered that she drove her mother’s car without permission from Whitehall to Dravosburg and back to visit her boyfriend who had moved there.  After finally reaching legal driving age and getting her driver’s license, she learned to drive a stick-shift and got her motorcycle license.  You would think with all of those skills she may not have been blessed with so many other attributes.  However, Nikki was beautiful and was one of the nicest, warm and caring people you could ever meet.  She had a smile that could light up any room and brilliant blue eyes that sparkled when she laughed which she did often.

Being the oldest sister, Nikki stepped in to help get her sisters off to school.  She took care of them after school and helped them with their homework.  She looked out for them always, and they looked up to her, depended on and adored her.  No matter their lives did not permit the closeness they had as children, there remained an unbreakable bond in adulthood and were there for each other when needed.  

If there were one word to describe Nikki, it was kind.  You may have heard the expression, she “would not hurt a fly.” Nikki literally would not -- she rescued spiders and insects, carrying them outside to freedom rather than killing them.  Once some years ago, her boyfriend came home with asmall white rat which was destined to be his pet snake’s dinner.  Nikki saved the rat from his intended fate, and raised him as a pet.  She loved our family dogs, Bijou and Chablis, and she also loved all of her friends’ and relatives’ pets, including Zippy, Grainger, Sprocket, and more recently, Briley, who vacationed with Nikki on occasion.

Nikki made friends wherever she went and was loved and cherished by all.  She had a way about her, or maybe it was because she did not pretend to be anyone she was not, she charmed you right off the bat.  Whether it was her smile,her baby blues, her sense of humor, or her way of letting her guard down so you knew she was genuine, people just gravitated towards her.  Even in her darkest times, she was a light that drew people in like a magnet.  

In 2013, Nikki met Vaughn Chronister.  It was not long before they were a couple.  You can tell when two people fall hard in love.  It was that way with them.  They found their soulmate in each other and soon began making secret plans.  In the fall of 2014, they eloped.  As they were both struggling with personal issues, they knew it would be better to wait until they began to live together.  Tragically, before that could happen, Vaughn died, unexpectedly, in June of 2015.  

Sadly for us, but lucky for her, God decided that Nikki need not struggle any more and called her name.  We like to think she is now in Vaughn’s arms and is reunited and surrounded by those family members and friends who left this Earth before her, including her beloved father, Paul(who she adored and who adored her and nicknamed her Nick-Nack-Paddy-Wack), grandfather, Bup (from whom she may have gotten those beautiful blue eyes of hers), Uncle Ed (who shamefully doted on her and possibly bought her every miniature toy Tonka truck ever made), Aunt Mim (who was her adopted other grandmother and helped to care for Nikki from day one) and Darlene-ie (who was our cherished friend, very much a part of our family)and many others who loved her so.

Family and friends will be received on Thursday, May 1st from 2-4 PM at Paul Henney Cremation & Funeral Tributes, 5570 Library Rd., Bethel Park. 

Donations in her memory can be made to Animal Friends of Pittsburgh, https://thinkingoutsidethecage.org/

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