LeRoy M. Schmidt
LeRoy “Smitty” Max Schmidt, 92, of Manchester, passed away on Saturday, June 26, 2021, at the Good Neighbor Home in Manchester. Smitty was born March 11, 1929, in Strawberry Point, the son of Mike and Agnes (Schuchmann) Schmidt. He attended elementary and high school at Strawberry Point, graduating in 1946. During high school, he worked for Jessen’s Super Market, delivering groceries. Smitty was drafted into the U.S. Army and served his country honorably for two years, being stationed in Germany and serving in the office of his captain.
After his discharge from the army, he was united in marriage to Vivian Joanne Davis in Strawberry Point. They then moved to Iowa City, where Smitty attended the University of Iowa, graduating with a degree in accounting while Joanne worked as a nurse. After Smitty’s graduation, they moved to Jackson, Mich., where he worked as an accountant for Consumer Power Company until his retirement in 1986. It was in Michigan that Smitty and Joanne raised their three children, daughters Barbara and Deborah and son Thomas. Smitty was a hard worker, very dependable and a loving father and husband. He enjoyed taking his children to sporting events and concerts. Smitty was a loyal and faithful Chicago Cubs fan. He was always very sweet, never negative or judgmental and a man of deep faith.
After Smitty’s retirement, the couple moved to Sedona, Ariz., and built their retirement home in the beautiful Red Rock Mountains. In 2003, Joanne passed away in the nursing home after it was no longer possible for Smitty to care for her at home.
In 2004, he remarried a longtime friend, Joan (Friederich)Kelley, who had also lost her spouse. They spent six months in Arizona and six months in Joan’s country home in Manchester. Smitty and Joan enjoyed 17 years together before he entered the Good Neighbor Home in Manchester due to poor health.
Survivors include his second wife, Joan; his children, Barbara (Aaron) Clark of Albuquerque, N.M., Deborah (Dennis) Peltz of Chandler, Ariz., and Thomas Schmidt of Phoenix, Ariz.; two grandchildren, Griffen and Alisha Peltz of Chandler, Ariz.; his two stepchildren, Kimberly (Robert) Waste of Cedar Rapids and Timothy (Mary) Kelley of Manchester; three step-granddaughters, Lindsay, Tabitha and Amber Schnittjer; three step-grandsons, Ryan (Kenna Coates) Kelley of Dickeyville, Wis., Tyler Kelley of Cedar Rapids and Kyle Kelley of Manchester; and two step-great-grandchildren, Emma and Zachary Ritz of Truman, Minn.
Smitty was preceded in death by his parents; his first wife, Joanne; a brother, Don Schmidt; and a stepson, Kevin Kelley.
He will be missed by all who knew and loved him.
Memorial dervices with military honors will be held at a later date at First Lutheran Church in Manchester. Inurnment will also be at a later date.
Online condolences may be sent to www.leonard-mullerfh.com.
