Schmidt, Esther Katherine (1899-1987)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1987 Aug 20 p. 8

Birth date: 1899 Jan 17

text of obituary:

NEWTON & VICINITY

. . .

● Funeral services for Esther Katherine Schmidt, 88, of Newton, were held Aug. 15 at Faith Mennonite Church, Newton, with Ed Stucky officiating. Burial was in Greenwood Cemetery, Newton. A former teacher and missionary to the Indians in Oklahoma, she died Aug. 12 at Bethel Deaconess Hospital. A native of Pawnee Rock, she had moved to Newton 25 years ago from Oklahoma. Survivors include four sons, Richard, Lincoln, Neb.; Robert and Wilbur, both of Newton; James of Oklahoma City, Okla.; one daughter, Eleanor Nickel of Newton; two brothers, Sam Schmidt of Revere, Mass., and Roland Schmidt of Pawnee Rock; two sisters, Lena Grossardt of Claflin and Elizabeth Lundstedt of Long Beach, Calif.; seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, August Schmidt; three brothers and three sisters.

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1987 Oct 22 p. 11

text of obituary:

ESTHER K. SCHMIDT

Esther K. Schmidt was born Jan 17, 1899, at Pawnee Rock, Kan., the eldest child of Samuel J. and Katherine Schroeder Schmidt. She die Aug. 12, 1987.

She spent her early years on the family farm and was baptized and joined the Bergthal Mennonite Church in her teens.

She was graduated from Bethel Academy in 1918. After teaching school for several years at Pawnee Rock and Inman, she enrolled at Bethel College, graduating in 1926. As a student, she showed her independent spirit by enrolling in an industrial arts course. She made several pieces of furniture, which were used in her home throughout her life. She was one of the first to major in home economics at Bethel and minored in mathematics and English. Art was another interest of hers.

She met August Schmidt at college. They were married Aug. 8, 1926, in Bergthal Mennonite Church by J. B. Schmidt. It was somewhat unusual that all the members of the wedding party were Schmidts.