When Mercedes Duffy was about 4 years old she found a head of broccoli on the kitchen counter and she ate it. All of it.
Shortly afterward when asked if she wanted some ice cream, Duffy declined the creamy cool stuff and said she’d like more broccoli.
Duffy, who is now 35 and still loves vegetables, attributes her veggie affinity to her grandmother, Darlene Schacht, cofounder of the Community Gardens of Tucson, who died Feb. 11. She was 82.
The community gardens took root after Schacht took a master gardener course from George Brookbank, then the horticultural agent for the University of Arizona’s Pima County Cooperative Extension. Brookbank died in 2018.
The duo realized that people in Brookbank’s classes needed hands-on experience.
The gardeners “want to learn properly, and they want the camaraderie of gardening with others,” Schacht said in the Star in 2008.
Darlene Schacht loved being outdoors, often hiking and camping in Tucson-area mountains.
Schacht offered her house for meetings, got donations for plots of land, and met every weekend with the gardeners.
“She puts so much time into it, and has for so long, ” Steve Godwin said in the Star in 2008.
The first garden was planted in 1990 in donated ground near First Avenue and Limberlost Road. Today more than 300 gardeners use sustainable gardening practices to grow vegetables and flowers in 20 gardens in neighborhoods across Tucson.
Darlene Schacht had a “joyous knowing” of where food comes from, said her daughter, Laurie Schacht. Darlene was raised on a farm in Iowa and was keenly aware of the difference between fresh, wholesome food and processed foods.
Darlene’s parents, Walter and Elsie Mehlert, immigrated from Germany. Darlene, the youngest of six children, headed to the University of Hawaii to major in speech therapy. She married, had three children and settled in Arizona in 1973.
“Gardening was her joy,” said Mardean Kinsella, Darlene’s sister. After their father died, their mother visited Arizona and she told Darlene “You can’t grow plants in Arizona. You can’t grow anything in those rocks.”
Darlene Schacht volunteered with the Southern Arizona Rescue Association (SARA) and the Mount Lemmon Ski Patrol.
That was a notion Darlene clearly did not accept.
Bruce Plenk and Patti Hartmann, who till the soil at the Gregory School Garden, as did Darlene, and are involved with the Community Gardens organization, said each garden has a monthly meeting of gardeners. Darlene and Brookbank would attend each meeting, walking among the plots commenting on what was growing well and offering suggestions.
Darlene always had an upbeat, positive attitude and was nonjudgemental, said Hartmann. She offered encouragement and suggestions to struggling gardeners.
Her mom loved “digging in soil and growing things,” said Laurie.
She was also a hydroponic gardening expert, who taught classes and had a business, the Soilless Gardner, said Godwin, a friend for more than 30 years.
Darlene got a hydroponic array for her sister’s New York classroom. She wanted to show the kids that plants didn’t need soil to grow, said Kinsella.
She was a “quiet force that got things moving,” said Laurie. “She never shied away from adventure and was always willing to try things out.”
She was a “quiet force that got things moving,” Darlene Schacht's daughter Laurie said. “She never shied away from adventure and was always willing to try things out."
When Brookbank retired from the extension service in 1995, the replacement agent broke off the gardens. So Darlene and Brookbank formed an independent, nonprofit organization. Darlene was the incorporator, and Brookbank and two gardeners were the initial board of directors.
Though her mom had no experience with nonprofits, she was willing to experiment, learn and try things, said Laurie.
“She followed what she loved doing,” said Laurie. She loved being outdoors, often hiking and camping in Tucson-area mountains. She volunteered with the Southern Arizona Rescue Association (SARA) and the Mount Lemmon Ski Patrol.
Cultivating connections
Community and connections were important to Darlene.
“The joy for us is it (the community gardens) brings people together,” Darlene said in the Star in 2008. “I love to see people blossom, just like the gardens.”
The Old Fort Lowell Live at Home Program, in which volunteers help their older adult and disabled neighbors with everyday tasks and errands, was one of Darlene’s volunteer efforts that reinforced connections and a sense of community.
Kinsella said Darlene called them “fristers”— a combination of “friends” and “sisters.” Kinsella said Darlene was nurturing and kept connections with immediate and extended family, visiting Germany to keep cousins and relatives in touch.
Darlene Schacht, center
Schacht also grew connections playing mahjong and bridge and with her dog-walking group.
She is survived by her children Matt Schacht, Mark Schacht (Cielo), and Laurie Schacht; grandchildren, Mercedes Duffy (Steve Zavagli) and Anna Schacht (Dan Goodwin); and sister Mardean (Don) Kinsella. She is predeceased by her parents and four brothers.
“She was an amazing woman,” said Duffy. “I am lucky to have had her in my life.”
A celebration of life is being planned for April. To make a donation or to be contacted when plans for the celebration are finalized, go to communitygardensoftucson.org/darlene.
