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Donald L. 'Don' Schmidt Des Moines, IA QCWA # 18952 |
Donald Lewis Schmidt, 91, passed away peacefully on May 8, 2017 surrounded by his family. Funeral Mass will be 10:30 a.m. Friday at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Urbandale with a burial at Resthaven Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at McLaren's Chapel, 801 19th St., in West Des Moines.
Don was born January 28, 1926 in Independence, IA. He dropped out of school and lied about his age to join the Navy during WWII. He picked the Navy so he would not have to wear a tie. Don was a radio operator in Naval Aviation. He later received his GED when he lived in California in the 1960's. In his prime he enjoyed riding his motorcycle and his bicycle. Don rode several RAGBRAI's in the 1980's. He spent many hours on his ham radio talking to people all over the world. Don was constantly disturbing the frequency of his family's TV and radios with the dit dot of Morris code. He proudly displayed his call letters, WØANZ, on his car license plate. Don spent his working career in the newspaper business and retired from the Des Moines Register. Don enjoyed the leisure of his retirement for nearly 30 years.
In Don's last few years most of his memories faded, but he had clear, fond memories of his mother, father, brothers and sister. His daughters took turns visiting him every day and he always had a big smile on his face expressing his appreciation and happiness for their visits. Don had a good life and was a happy man who up until his final days loved whistling an old time tune.
Don is survived by three daughters, Mary Ann Koch of Des Moines, Julie Schmidt of Des Moines, Jeanne (William) Fitzgerald of Norwalk; two sons, Fred (Kate) Schmidt of Wrightwood, CA and Tom (Cathi) of Davis, CA; two granddaughters; three grandsons and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary.
The family is thankful for all of the caregivers and their thoughtfulness in Don's final years.
Published in Des Moines Register from May 10 to May 11, 2017
