Schmidt, Ethel Richert (1919-2009)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2009 Oct 12 p. 9

Birth date: 1919 Dec 18

text of obituary:

ETHEL SCHMIDT

Ethel Schmidt, 89, of North Newton, Kan., died Sept. 10, 2009. She was born Dec. 18, 1919, in Newton to David H. and Edith Richert.

She grew up on the Bethel College campus, where her father was a professor and her mother a homemaker. She had one brother, Roland, who was an archeologist for the National Park Service in Arizona.

She graduated from Newton High School and Bethel College, and the day after graduation, May 28, 1942, she married Roland Schmidt.

After her marriage, she lived on a farm in the Pawnee Rock area for 47 years, raising five children there. She was an active member of Bergthal Mennonite Church of Pawnee Rock. She did much volunteering in the church and the community, including the Women’s Mission Society, Larned State Hospital, 4-H clubs and County Extension clubs. She was also a substitute teacher in the Pawnee Rock school system.

In 1989, she and Roland moved to North Newton. She was a member of Bethel College Mennonite Church and especially appreciated her Sunday school class. She enjoyed the activities of the Kidron Bethel, Bethel College and Bethel College Mennonite Church communities. She was a good cook, an avid reader and had a marvelous sense of humor. She enjoyed people, and new acquaintances quickly became friends. Her sense of humor, optimistic outlook and faith aided her greatly in coping with the pain and disabilities associated with multiple sclerosis. She was an inspiration to many.

Survivors include her husband, Roland; five children, David Schmidt and his wife, Rita, of Great Bend, Steven Schmidt and his wife, Wanda, of Newton, Donald Schmidt and his wife, Debbie, of Newton, Meribeth Buhr and her husband, Bruce, of Wichita, and Susan Grasse and her husband, Joel, of Bella Vista, Ark.; 11 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by a brother, Roland Richert.

Funeral services were held at Bethel College Mennonite Church.