Figuratively speaking, Denise Schmidt had a full plate.

Aside from being a bus driver for Warwick Valley Central Schools, she was single mother of four and one of the leading agents at Green Team New York Realty, where colleagues were celebrating her life on Tuesday afternoon.

"If anybody asked her for help, she was there. She was a hell of a professional. She knew her stuff, and she shared," fellow Green Team agent Lucyann Tinnirello said, alluding to the prevailing culture of their field. "A lot of people don't like to share. She was a sharer."

On Friday evening, during a gathering of Green Team agents at a nearby home, one of the agents received a call from her daughter, a player on the Warwick Valley High School tennis team, who said Schmidt, the driver of the team's bus, had passed out and veered off the I-84 on-ramp at Exit 5 near Maybrook.

"I immediately got a bunch of texts, got right on it," company owner Geoff Green said when reached by phone Tuesday afternoon, "and then myself and Lucyann just shot up to Orange Regional to be there with the family."

State Police wrote in a press release on Monday that Schmidt, 53, "experienced a medical episode and became slumped over the wheel" as the bus headed up the on-ramp, eventually traveling down a small grassy ravine before hitting a tree.

Officials told Spectrum News that in addition to one coach, 22 students, ages 15 to 17, were on the bus. None were injured. Police also said one of the players and the coach performed CPR until paramedics arrived to transport Schmidt to the hospital.

Schmidt eventually died Sunday.

"Kudos to all of them, especially [senior tennis player] Chloe Hazard," Tinnirello said. "It was impeccable how they did everything for her. It wasn't in vain. It was one of those things that happen. They just did their best."

Both Tinnirello and Green believe Schmidt used her "last little bit of energy" to avoid a collision that could have injured the players, which is indicative of her personality.

"She took on more real estate files that most other agents would not touch with a 10-foot pole," Green explained. "It wasn't about the commission. It was about people needing help, and Denise was going to do it, no matter how hard or complicated. What her check was like in the end didn't matter to her. She was there to help.

"I've always said that although Denise was a bus driver in addition to a realtor," Green added with a laugh, "she always had a trucker's mouth. She didn't have a filter and gave it to you the way that she saw it. That's what I loved about Denise."

Denise was also a mentor to Green Team's newly licensed real estate brokers.

Tinnirello quickly ticked off about five of Schmidt's professional accomplishments, and paused before hitting on what is perhaps Schmidt's greatest feat: her children.

"As a mother, she did her job," Tinnirello said. "She's leaving four fabulous children."

On Monday, the tennis team dedicated its match against Cornwall to Schmidt, who friends said was the driver for almost all the girls' away matches and had developed a close friendship with the players. The players, fittingly, put green ribbons in their hair and on their racquets as a tribute.

Visitation for Schmidt will be at Lazear-Smith and Vander Plaat Memorial Home on Friday from 4-6 p.m. and again from 7-9 p.m. A memorial service is scheduled at Springbrook Farm on S. Route 94 on Saturday at 4 p.m.