Arthur J. Schmidt

Arthur J. Schmidt, Sr., 91, of St. Joseph, went to be with his Lord, surrounded by his family and pastor, on July 31, 2007, at Lakeland Regional Medical Center, St. Joseph.A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 10:30A.M., Friday, August 3, 2007, at Trinity Lutheran Church, 609 Court St., St. Joseph with Pastor Thomas Batsky & Pastor Michael Roth officiating. Burial will follow in Riverview cemetery. Friends may call on the family from 5:00P.M. to 7:00P.M., Thursday, at Starks & Menchinger Family Funeral Home, 2650 Niles Rd., St. Joseph. Memorials may be made to Trinity Lutheran School. Those wishing to share a memory or sign the guestbook online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com. Arthur was born on May 3, 1916, in Berlin, WI, to Wilhelm & Augusta (Radke) Schmidt. He married Agnes Berk, his wife of 66 years, on June 28, 1941, at Trinity Lutheran Church. Church was very important to Arthur’s life. He served as an Elder and a Deacon at Trinity Lutheran. He worked at Bendix in South Bend from 1941 – 1947, commuting from St. Joseph everyday. In 1947 he began work at Whirlpool, retiring in 1980, after 33 years of employment as an experimental tool & die marker. Arthur was an avid golfer and bowler as well as a great story teller. Survivors include his wife Agnes of St. Joseph; daughter Judy (Joseph) Kramer of St. Joseph; two sons – Arthur (Judy) Schmidt, Jr. of St. Joseph and Dennis (Debbie) Schmidt of Grand Rapids; seven grandchildren – Jodie (Rob) Broadwater, Joseph Kramer, Donna Schmidt, Kimberly Schmidt, Brian Schmidt, Deanna Schmidt, Denise Schmidt; a sister Elsie Dick of Indianapolis, IN. He is preceded in death by three sisters and three brothers.