John Schmidt

John ‘Johnny’ Schmidt, 95, Bismarck, died Wednesday, February 27, 2019, at St. Vincent’s Care Center. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 12:30 pm Monday, March 4, at Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, 519 Raymond St., Bismarck. Visitation will be from 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Sunday at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck, where a KC rosary will begin at 7:00 pm followed by a vigil service.  John was born in Logan County, south of Napoleon on February 21, 1924 to Michael and Genevieve (Goldade) Schmidt. He attended a one room school until the 8th grade but earned his GED many years later. John was drafted into the Navy in January 1945 and proudly served until November of 1946. He moved to Bismarck and worked mainly as a meat cutter for many years. Later he worked as a custodian for the state capital and parked cars for several legislative sessions. His final retirement came at the age of 88 when he was working for the public library. John married Phyllis Weigel on May 19, 1958 and together they had nine children. John was a hardworking husband and father but still found the time to give back to the community and to the church. He was one of the first people to be commissioned as a Eucharistic Minister and continued to do so until 2017. He was a member of the Foresters and served as the Chief Ranger. John was member of the Knights of Columbus since 1972, a 4th Degree Knight since 1990 and served as Grand Knight for Council #6540. He helped with the annual God’s Share drives and the St. Mary’s Carnival. John was a regular at the blood bank and donated 137 pints of blood. During his ‘retirement’ years, John was involved in many volunteer activities including coordinating ushers for funerals, Special Olympics, and delivering meals for the senior center.   John bowled for more years then his kids can remember and served as the bowling secretary for 20 years. He and Phyllis spent a lot of time playing cards, dancing, and attending ball games over the years. On Saturdays he could be found at the VFW playing pinochle. But most importantly every day John was in church for the Rosary and Mass and this continued until last Sunday. John is survived by Phyllis, his wife of 60 years, 8 children, 14 grandchildren. Char Schmidt and daughter Devyn; Gerard Schmidt (Doreen West); Mari and Doug Bondley and their children Tara, Lacy, Jenna and Trevor; LuAnn Schmidt and her children Alysa and Nic; Doug Schmidt; Billy Schmidt and his children Austin, Braxton and Cameron; Loni and Mark Grothier and their children Katelyn, Shelby, Mary and James, all of Bismarck; and Mark Schmidt of Irving Texas. He also has 10 great grandchildren. John is also survived by his sister Theresia Neigum, sisters in law Katie Schmidt and Rita Schmidt all of Bismarck; brother Andy Schmidt (Joan), Braddock; and Pete Schmidt (Marie), and sister is law Ann Schmidt all of Seattle, WA. John was preceded in death by his youngest son, Patrick, sister and brother in law Lorraine and Russell Keifer; brothers Anton, Steve and Eugene and brother in law Peter Neigum. John lived a long and happy life for which his family feels extremely grateful and blessed. He will long be remembered for his Faith, love of family, and for the joy and laughter he brought to life.