North Bay Woman

36 NORTH BAY WOMAN black tank top and faded blue jeans, both daubed with enough streaks of pigment to fill a gallery. "There's about 20 different paintings represented in these clothes," she laughs. Her striking looks and charisma may be one of the reasons why Robin Williams couldn't take his eyes off her one day in autumn 2007 when she walked into the Apple Store in Corte Madera. Listening to her describe their meeting, she lights up like a major league sports stadium: Outlining how the two felt an instant connection, talking first in the store and then on a bench outside. How they continued sharing stories of their artistic paths, their personal histories of addiction (Schneider Williams has been clean and sober for 33 years and still continues to attend 12-step meetings), both of them growing up in Marin County and attending Redwood High School, though in different years. "It was two artists meeting. And sharing. Creativity," she says. "I had no idea where it was going but I knew I really loved being around this man and that he loved being around me. That was the beginning. Robin also loved my painting. He became one of my biggest fans." Friendship grew into dating and deep love; the two lived together, then were wed and had three years together as a married couple. Much of that time was spent coping with Robin Williams' drastically deteriorating health. Jacob makes the point that, "There's an important distinction: if you have Alzheimer's, you don't know you are losing your mind. If you have Lewy body, you are aware that you are losing your mind. Alzheimer's sufferers are not aware. For someone with Lewy body disease, they're aware of their disintegration. It's like a pinball machine. Robin was a genius. Spot on one minute, totally out of synch with reality the next." The indomitable will that kept Schneider Williams turning over every possible stone to help figure out what was wrong with her husband is now driving her involvement with brain research. "I always used proceeds from art sales to help whatever cause I was interested in," she says. "Now I'm doing my shows and talks to help fund brain research." What put her in the spotlight was an emotionally moving yet impeccably researched essay Schneider Williams wrote about Robin Williams' tragic disintegration and suicide. Called "The Terrorist Inside My Husband's Brain," it was printed in the American Academy of Neurology journal in 2016 as a special editorial. The article went viral. "Oh my lord, did I start getting thousands of emails from around the world," she says. "The most heartfelt were from people who had suffered, or Left: Susan Schneider Williams and actor Robin Williams were married three years after first meeting at the Corte Madera Apple store. "It was two artists meeting, and sharing," Schneider Williams says. The couple are pictured at a photo booth at a friend's wedding in Chicago in 2013. Right: Schneider Williams' son Casey takes a photo of his mother preparing for a solo art show in 2011. – Photos courtesy of Susan Schneider Williams; Below top: Schneider Williams' built in painting display shelves at home; Bottom photo: One of many paint splattered pairs of jeans. – Photos by Stuart Lirette

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