Schmidt, Arthur (1891-1961)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1961 Nov 23 p. 1

Birth date: 1891

Two Kansas Men Die En Route to Hilfs Plan Meeting

Separate funeral services were conducted at the Grace Hill Mennonite Church this week for two Newton area men who died in a Hooker, Okla. motel enroute to last Friday's Mennonite Hilfs-Plan annual meeting at the nearby Adams Mennonite Brethren Church.

The bodies of Val T. Harms, 60, of Route 3, Newton and Arthur Schmidt, 70, of Newton were found in their motel room Friday afternoon. Their companion, 79-year-old Peter Balzer of Route 2, Whitewater, was unconscious and in critical condition.

They had checked into the motel Thursday evening.

The Hilfs-Plan meeting convened Friday morning unaware of what had happened. The tragedy was discovered by Jake Winters, owner of the motel, when he noticed that the Harms auto had not been moved and went to inquire if the men wished to stay another night.

Exact circumstances of the deaths remain unknown.

An autopsy performed on the body of Mr. Harms indicated that death was caused by carbon monoxide poisoning. No inquest is planned. Mr. Balzer regained partial consciousness Monday morning and was brought from a Liberal, Kan. hospital to Bethel Deaconess Hospital on Tuesday.

Mr. Harms and Mr. Schmidt were both associated with the Hilfs-Plan as representatives for the Grace Hill Church. Mr. Balzer had accompanied them on the trip to look after land interests in Oklahoma.

Services for Mr. Schmidt were conducted Monday afternoon, Rev. Herbert Miller and Rev. J. J. Voth officiating. He is survived by his widow, Ruth; one son, Olin Wayne of Newton; one daughter, Mrs. Merril Harms of Whitewater; and two granddaughters.

Rev. Miller and Rev. H. B. Schmidt were to officiate at services for Mr. Harms on Wednesday afternoon. He leaves his widow, Elsie; one son, Edgar, serving in Haiti; and two daughters, Mrs. Leland Unruh of Atchison, Kan. and Esther, a student at Bethel College.

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary:1961 Dec 21 p. 8
The Mennonite obituary: 1962 Jan 2 p. 10