The world has lost a kind and righteous man. On February 14th, Anthony "Tony" Schmidt passed away in the presence of his family and God. He was born the 13th child of Jacob and Clara Schmidt in Catharine, KS. His early years were spent on the family farm, where he learned the enduring values of hard work and perseverance.
He attended St. Joseph’s Military Academy in Hays, KS, where he was a standout quarterback. After graduating in 1951, he attended Fort Hays State University for two years before enlisting in the US Army. After two years of military service, he returned to FHSU for one year, then transferred to Kansas State University.
On August 24, 1957, Tony married Annette Karlin at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Hays. The couple moved to Leonardville, KS, where Tony commuted to K-State and Nettie taught high school math and science.
Tony earned his BS in Electrical Engineering in 1958, and the couple moved to Kansas City, MO, where daughter Julie and son Tom were born. Tony went to work for the Bendix Corporation, completing his MSEE at the University of Kansas along the way.
In 1965, Tony accepted a position with Texas Instruments in Dallas, and the family moved to Texas. Shortly thereafter, son Chris was born.
During his tenure at TI, Tony worked on pioneering projects in Forward-Looking Infra Red technology for the Department of Defense. After TI sold its Defense Systems division to Raytheon, Tony continued supervising FLIR projects, retiring in 1998 as manager of the Airborne Systems Division.
Throughout his time in Texas, Tony devoted many hours to many ministries at St. Mark Catholic Church in Plano. He served as a Eucharistic Minister, usher, money counter, and finance council member.
Upon his retirement, Tony became active in Serra Club International, an organization promoting vocations to the Catholic religious life. He was president of the North Central Dallas chapter, and served as district governor. He also volunteered many hours with the Network of Community Ministries, the Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts, and the neighborhood Crime Watch patrol.
Tony was smart, funny, steadfast, humble, and faithful; but above all else, he was kind. He went out of his way to make others feel welcome. One of his great joys was spending time with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, every one of whom knew without a doubt that they were loved. He listened more than he spoke, always looked for ways to help, and truly loved his family.
Tony was preceded in death by his parents, Jacob J. and Clara Karlin Schmidt, as well as 11 of his siblings. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Annette; daughter Julie (Doug); son Tom (Karen); son Chris (Cathy); seven grandchildren (Taylor (Sara), Brittany (Matt), Evan (Kaitlyn), Ryan, Jake, Jane, and Sam) ; six great-grandchildren; his sister Dolores; and numerous nieces and nephews.
A rosary will be said at 7 pm on Sunday, 2/27, at St. Mark, followed by a vigil and visitation at 7:30.
A memorial Mass will be held at 10 am Monday, 2/28, at St. Mark. Inurnment and reception will follow.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Tony’s name to Holy Trinity Seminary, 3131 Vince Hagan Drive, Irving, TX 75062 (holytrinityseminary.org); or the Network of Community Ministries, 1500 International Pkwy, Richardson, TX 75081 (thenetwork.org).
Dignity Memorial is in charge of arrangements.