Earvy Gene Schmidt's Obituary
My dear Husband, our Dad, and Grandpa, Earvy Gene Schmidt was born June 9, 1929 to Noah and Ida Schmidt Schmidt at Goltry, Ok. He died peacefully at home, surrounded by his family, on July 6, 2017, reaching the age of 88 years and 28 days.
Dad remembered living in Morton, Texas during the dust bowl years. They moved to Louisiana in June of 1937 when he was 9 years old. Being the second of eleven children, there was always a lot of work in their home, and in the field, growing cucumbers and strawberries to sell.
At the tender age of 12 Dad answered the call of God and was baptized into the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite by Min. Dan Smith on March 1, 1942. He remained faithful to his vows until the Lord called him Home.
During the national draft, he was called to serve, but as a conscientious objector, he spent 2 years in 1-W service in the New Orleans unit.
In June of 1955, at the age of 26, Dad proposed to Mom and then left for wheat harvest in Kansas, arriving a day or two after his proposal. Dad & Mom were married on July 10, 1955 by Min. Arverd Wiggers at Lonetree, Ks. To this union were born three sons, and five daughters. Together, they shared the joys and sorrows of life 4 days short of 62 years.
We lived in Burns, Kansas for a short time where Dad worked at various jobs. Finding employment at the Hesston Cooperation, we settled in the Hesston community making the Meridian congregation our home. Dad was employed at Hesston Cooperation for 16 years as a professional welder.
Dad labored faithfully to make a living for his “two and a half dozen children” as he loved to tell people. For most of our growing up years we operated a dairy, while Dad worked at Hesston Cooperation. We remember baling hay at night. Dad loved nature. He loved caring for his peach trees and blueberry bushes.
Our Dad was a no-nonsense man. To hear him laugh out loud was reason to come and find out what was going on! We will remember his strong soprano voice as he sang in church. We remember Dad reading his Sunday School Lesson out loud and praying often for his children and grandchildren. Dad was faithful in having family devotions.
We moved to Louisiana in December of 1975, where we tried our hand at farming. Dad turned to being a day laborer and was employed at various jobs. The last 10 years before his retirement, he drove feed truck for O’Neal’s Feeders Supply.
Dad was not a man to show much affection, but we never questioned his love for us.
As Dad’s health declined with dementia & Parkinson’s, we felt it necessary for them to leave the farm. We, as a family, moved them into a small house on his daughter Geneva & Don’s yard. She tenderly cared for him in his failing years with help from her siblings and Harbor Hospice.
Left to mourn his passing are; his wife Eunice, three sons: Galen and wife Ella, Verle and wife Sharla, both of DeRidder, Harold and wife Lou, of Goltry, Oklahoma; five daughters: Rita and husband Joe Gonzalez, Geneva and husband Donald Smith, Elaine and husband Norman Schmidt, all of DeRidder, Glenda and husband Tony May of McIntire, Iowa, Verna and husband Wendell Koehn of Stover, Missouri, twenty-eight grandchildren, and fifteen great grandchildren; two sisters: Rosella and husband Jim Loewen of Monte Vista, Colorado, and Virgina Koehn of DeRidder; one brother: Milton and wife Regean of DeRidder. Proceeding him in death were his parents, three brothers, and four sisters.
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