Ida Schmitt

Ida Schmitt, 96, died May 7, 2023.

A service livesteam will be available on Good Shepherd Lutheran Church's YouTube page available here:        https://www.youtube.com/@GoodShepherdLutheranChurch

A memorial service will be held at 1:00 PM, Monday, June 5, at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 106 Osage Ave, Bismarck.

Visitation will be held from 5:00-6:30 PM, Sunday, June 4, at Parkway Funeral Service, Bismarck. A prayer service will begin at 6:30 PM.

Burial will be held at 12:00 (MT) on Tuesday, June 6, at the Sunny Slope Cemetery in Mott, ND.

Ida Lorine Schmitt, the daughter of Jacob and Albina (Bertsch) Schmitt, was born Jan. 26, 1927, on the Schmitt farmstead nine miles southeast of Regent. She was baptized and confirmed at Christ Lutheran Church in Mott, attended rural school in Chilton township and graduated from Mott Lincoln High School in 1944.

After graduation from high school, Ida began her career in education at age 17 by teaching one year in her rural home school and one year in the Mott Elementary School. She graduated from Concordia College in 1950. Her employment at The Anne Carlsen Center in Jamestown (from 1950 to 1962) introduced her to the field of Special Education in which she was immersed the remainder of her professional life. At the ACC, she taught for four years in the elementary grades plus jr. high and high school math; then served as principal for eight years.

During the summer months, Ida earned a Master's Degree at Syracuse University in the Education of brain injured and physically handicapped children. She sought additional training in Counseling and Christian Education by attending The Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, and Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.

Ida studied at Peabody College/Vanderbilt in Nashville during the '62-'63 school year where she earned a Specialist Degree in the education of children with social/emotional needs. Ida served as School Mental Health Consultant in the ND Dept. of Health from '63 to '66 where she visited schools state-wide to follow-up children who were evaluated at the State Psychiatric Clinic in Bismarck., providing in service training for teachers and documenting the need for school and community services for children with social/emotional handicaps. From 1966 until her retirement in 1988, Ida served as Assistant Director of Special Education in the ND Department of Public Instruction. During that time, she was given the Humanitarian Award by the ND Council for Exceptional Children (1986) and was named the Special Educator of the Year by the ND Association of Children with Learning Disabilities (1988). At age 91, she was recognized as the "Outstanding Senior of 2018" by Missouri Slope Lutheran Care Center.

While a member of Faith Lutheran Church, Ida's leadership areas included serving on the church council, teacher of the Bethel Bible Studies, and serving as the first leader of the Stephen Ministry Program. Since 1996 she was an active member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.

Ida was committed to searching and documenting her family's histories, which eventually led her to visit the Black Forest Area of Germany where the Schmitt family originated and the vicinity surrounding Stuttgart where it is believed her mother's Bertsch/Schaeffer families had originated. During a tour of the Soviet Union, her delight was to visit the Odessa depot (in South Russia, now the Ukraine) from which her father had embarked at age four to immigrate with his parents to America in 1898. Among other travels, two of special significance were the Bethel Bible Series tour of the Orient including the International Conference in Seoul, Korea, and the Soviet Union Tour arranged by the Christian Endeavor Organization. In September, 2015, Ida moved to Valley View Heights, an Assisted Living facility in Bismarck. In August 2022, she moved to SMP Health Ave Maria in Jamestown, where she resided until her death.

Ida is survived by 15 nieces and nephews, Henrietta Milner, Dekalb, IL; Marlene Zent, Mesa, AZ; Sherryl Heinrich, Mesa, AZ; Rodney (Laurie) Oberlander, Camarillo, CA; Dennis Schmitt, Jamestown; Lucinda (Jeff) Malm, Kulm; Lynette Terjesen, Kulm; Theresa (Roger) Olson, Frazee, MN; Timothy (Sherry) Schmitt; Norfolk NE, Thomas (Linda) Schmitt, Geneva, IL; Dr. Rebecca (Kevin) Leidal, Solon IA; Miriam (Scott) Hildre, Fargo, ND; Heidi (Jeff) Vansteenburg (Battle Lake, MN); and Sonja (Kent) Casperson, Colleyville, TX; Godchild, Margaret (Jon) Young, Fargo; grandniece Godchild, Tracy Collins, Jacksonville, FL; and many other grand and great-grand nieces and nephews.

Preceding in death were Ida’s parents, Jacob and Albina Schmitt; brothers, Emanuel (Leona) and Otto (LaVerne); sisters, Alma (Henry) Erlenbusch, Clara (Adam) Oberlander, Martha (Arthur) Frisvold, Esther Schmitt, Emma (Clarence) Kamka, and Lydia Schmitt; nieces, Doris Ross and Adeline Schwalbe; nephew, Arlen Oberlander; and two infant siblings, Henry and Eva.

The family wishes to thank the staff of SMP Ave Maria for their overflowing love and devotion and their compassionate care.

Memorials in Ida’s name can be made to the Anne Carlson Center, 1929 N Washington St, Suite GG, Bismarck, ND 58501, or to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 106 Osage Ave, Bismarck, 58501.