R. Irene Schmidt

Ruth Irene Schmidt, 83, of St. Joseph, passed away Tuesday, December 09, 2008 at her home. A Celebration of Life Eternal will be held at 3:00 P.M. Friday at Trinity Lutheran Church, 619 Market St., St. Joseph with Rev. Thomas Batsky officiating. Burial will follow at Riverview Cemetery in St. Joseph. Friends may call from 4:00 until 7:00 P.M. Thursday at Starks & Menchinger Family Funeral Home, St. Joseph. Memorials may be made to Trinity Lutheran School, Hospice at Home or a charity of the donor’s choice. Those wishing to share a memory or sign the guest book online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com. Irene was born May 20, 1925 in Atwood, Kansas to Herman & Ida (Focke) Heussman. On August 15, 1947, she married Milton A. Schmidt in Ludell, KS. The family moved to St. Joseph in 1957. Irene was employed for many years at Sanitary Cleaners in St. Joseph. She held various positions over the years, retiring as bookkeeper. Irene was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church where she was active in the Ladies Aid, the Quilting Group, and the Concordia Guild. In her free time, she enjoyed crossword puzzles, Scrabble, flower gardening, sewing and watching the Cardinals outside her window. Irene is survived by her husband Milton; her daughter Marilyn (Ron) Bork of Seward, Nebraska; two sons-Steve (Cindy) Schmidt of Benton Harbor, Brian Schmidt of St. Joseph; six grandchildren-Kristin Bork, Allison (Nate) Domsch, Jayna (Chris) Mullett, Mellany (George) Gardiner, Jessica Schmidt, Rebecca Schmidt; six great grandchildren; two sisters-Bernice Kasten of Flagler, CO, Joan Freise of Gage Lake, IN; and two special caregivers-Colleen Commins & Jennifer Pfister. She was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers-Dr. John & Gerald Heussman, a sister Elaine Holle, and a daughter-in-law Judy Schmidt.