Schmidt, John R. (1911-2003)

Newton Kansan obituary: 2003 Nov 8 p. 2; 2003 Nov 12 p. 2

Birth date: 1911 Jan 8

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2003 Nov 17 p. 7

text of obituary:

Pioneering doctor dies in Paraguay

By Robert Rhodes
Mennonite Weekly Review

John R. Schmidt, a pioneering physician from Kansas who ministered to refugee Mennonites and leprosy patients amid the hardships of rural Paraguay, died Nov. 6 in Filadelfia, Paraguay. He was 92.

Schmidt, a native of Goessel, Kan., first went to Paraguay in 1941 on assignment with Mennonite Central Committee, shortly after graduating from the University of Kansas medical school. He returned to Paraguay in 1943 after marrying Clara Regier, who had completed her nursing studies in Newton, Kan.

After returning from Paraguay and practicing medicine in the United States for several years, Schmidt in 1950 went to eastern Paraguay, where he treated leprosy patients in a clinic he and his wife established at Kilometer 81.

Though encouraged by MCC and others to start a leprosy colony, Schmidt helped remove some of the disease's stigma by mingling his leprosy patients with others seeking treatment.

Frank Wiens of Hillsboro, Kan., who directed MCC's efforts in Paraguay from 1950 to 1965, said Schmidt initially had to seek out leprosy patients, who often lived in seclusion because of their illness, on horseback.

"Gradually, he gained the confidence of people in the area," Wiens said. "He had quite a clientele across the countryside."

By establishing a clinic and not another leprosy colony, Wiens said Schmidt broke new ground.

"He said, 'We don't want to coop people up and hide them from the public,'" Wiens said. "They were very open to new ideas."

Schmidt's medical ministry also provided spiritual opportunities. Local Mennonite youth were encouraged to perform voluntary service in the clinic, and Bibles and tracts were frequently distributed at the clinic.

In 1971, the Schmidts went to Vietnam, where they treated leprosy patients for a year.

After this, they returned to Paraguay, where they established a hospital and provided general medical service to the poor in the isolated Tres Palmas area.

When he was in his 70s, Schmidt and his wife returned to Goessel for six years, where they served residents of a local nursing home and were active in Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church, which Schmidt had joined as a youth. In 1989, they moved to Menno Colony in Paraguay, where they worked with the residents of a nursing home. After another five years in Goessel, the couple retired to Paraguay, where their work together had begun 60 years before.

Schmidt was born Jan. 8, 1911, near Goessel, the fifth of 11 children. He is survived by his wife, Clara; eight children, John of Filadelfia, Lisa Summerlot of Boulder, Colo., Wesley and David, both of Asuncion, Paraguay, Marlena Fiol of Denver, Mary Lou Bonham of Newton, Chris Schmidt of Loma Plata, Paraguay, and Josie Friesen of Filadelfia; 24 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

The funeral was in Paraguay. A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 15 at Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church.