The funeral service for LeRoy Schmidt, 103, of Wood Lake, will take place at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, September 12, 2022, at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Posen Township. Visitation will be Sunday, September 11, 2022, from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church and Monday, September 12, one hour prior to the service. Interment will follow the service at St. Luke’s Cemetery. The Sunset Funeral & Cremation Service in Echo is handling the arrangements.
LeRoy Theodore Schmidt was born on July 12, 1919, at home on the family farm in Posen Township to Philip and Amelia (Munsch) Schmidt. He grew up on the farm and attended country school. LeRoy worked for the hatchery in Wood Lake for a time, and later he worked for the Onan Motors Company in Minneapolis. After his time in the cities, LeRoy returned to the farm near Wood Lake. He was united in marriage to Donna Mae Olson on February 27, 1944. They farmed and raised their family in Posen Township. After retiring from farming, LeRoy stayed active. As a hobby, he would tear down buildings. He had removed several dairy barns, houses, and the school near St. Luke’s. LeRoy was very meticulous with his work. He would carefully remove the building materials and reuse and recycle the material. He enjoyed going to auctions and sales, buying and reselling material. LeRoy also enjoyed dancing to polka music and participating in parades where he would pull his homemade bundle rack. He will be remembered for his joke and storytelling as well.
After moving to the Avera Granite Falls Care Center, LeRoy died on Thursday, September 1, 2022.
He is survived by his children Keith (Bonnie) Schmidt of Winsted, Larry (Linda) Schmidt of Tacoma, WA, Bonnie (Doug) Morey of Olympia, WA, Susan (Mike) Nordquist of Missoula, MT, Sharon (Kevin) Twomey of Miami, FL, Tom (Rhoda) Schmidt of Cottonwood, Brad (Pat) Schmidt of Casa Grande, AZ, Greg (Melinda) Schmidt of Wood Lake, Julie (Ron) Schlenner of Clarkfield, 22 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren, siblings Ordean (Bonnie) Schmidt of Glenwood, Edgar Schmidt of Madison, WI, Philip Jr. (Murial) Schmidt of Wood Lake, Joanne Wilhite of St. Paul, and many nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Donna Mae, grandson Justin Morey, great-grandsons Caiden Schmidt and Lincoln Timm in infancy.
