Schmidt, Selma Fast (1918-2003)

Newton Kansan obituary: 2003 July 30 p. 2; 2003 July 31 p. 2

Birth date: 1918 Mar 14

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2003 Sep 29 p. 8

text of obituary:

SELMA SCHMIDT

Selma Schmidt, 85, died July 31, 2003, at Newton (Kan.) Medical Center. She was born March 14, 1918, to Isaac and Aganetha Unruh Fast on a farm south of Goessel.

She and her family lived together with her paternal grandparents, Isaac and Susanna Fast. At age 10, her parents and siblings moved to the home of her maternal grandmother, Mrs. Kornelius Unruh. The extended family life was a blessing.

Selma's elementary education was at the Gordon and Green Valley grade schools. She graduated from Goessel High School and continued on to Bethel College for two years to get the credits for her teaching certificate. Her teaching experience included such schools as Rose Hill near Lehigh, Green Valley near Goessel, Bogue in Manhattan and Lincoln and Jefferson in Newton. When she taught in Newton, she lived at home so she could assist her aging parents. She was the main caregiver during her mother's last years of life.

She was baptized in 1937 and became an active member of Goessel Mennonite Church.

On July 22, 1969, she married Milton Schmidt and soon after that joined Tabor Mennonite Church. In 1973, they adopted four sisters: Barbara, Linda, Patricia and Kathy.

She attended the General Conference at Estes Park in Colorado and the Mennonite World Conference assemblies in Amsterdam and Wichita, where she helped with the children's activities. She and Milton regularly attended the MCC sales in Hutchinson and contributed many plants to the sales. When people from Laos and other Asian and African countries became homeless, she and Milton made it possible for families to come to the U.S.

She was a member of the Goessel Garden Club, Retired Teachers' Association and Tabor Church Willing Helpers.

Survivors include her husband, Milton; four daughters, Barbara Unruh and her husband, Jeffrey, Linda Graber and her husband, Jerry, Pat Schmidt, and Kathy Voth and her husband, Tim; a brother, Menno Fast; a sister, Martha Waltner; and nine grandchildren.