Dorothy Ann Schmitz, 90, of Caldwell, Kansas passed peacefully from this life after a long battle with dementia on April 30, 2022 at her home with her family at her side. Dorothy was born the first child of Norbert and Norma Peters in West Point, Nebraska on September 17, 1931.
Dorothy attended school in Tonkawa, Oklahoma until her family moved to the farm in Okeene, Oklahoma where she lived until her father purchased a farm near Caldwell, Kansas. Dorothy attended her senior year at Caldwell High graduating with the class of 1949. She attended business school and then worked for the telephone company in Enid, Oklahoma. She and a girlfriend then moved to Denver, Colorado where she worked until she moved to Wichita to be closer to her family when her mother became ill with breast cancer. She quit this job to tend her mother when she became terminally ill. After her mother passed in 1955, she moved back to Wichita and worked at Southwest National Bank.
She met her husband of 65 years, Donald Schmitz, shortly after and married him May 9th, 1956 in time for harvest. The couple settled on a farm outside Wakita, Oklahoma and began raising their family. They were blessed with five children during their time on this farm. Shortly after their fifth child, they knew they needed a larger place. They moved to the farm her father had purchased near Caldwell, Kansas and eventually purchased it from him. They lived there until they moved into Caldwell when her father moved to the nursing home in 1986.
Dorothy was a dedicated homemaker and farm wife. She was known to drive trucks, run after parts and feed the livestock as well as taking meals to the field the feed the crew. Once the children were all in school, Dorothy began working outside the home. She worked for the Caldwell School District serving in the cafeteria and later as a para educator working with grade school children who needed learning assistance. She loved both of these jobs. Dorothy was an active member of St. Martin’s Altar Society and was very involved in parish activities. She enjoyed quilting and playing cards. She loved to travel and enjoyed many trips with the family and then alone with Don. She loved traveling to see her sisters and joined them in several girls’ trips. The one trip she didn’t want to go on was the trip Don and daughter Debbie made to Germany. She didn’t want to fly over that ocean.
Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents and brother Donald.
She is survived by her husband, Donald, sisters Jane (Angelo) Coero of Roseville, California, Joyce Vandever of Denver, Colorado, sister-in-law Janie (Hays) Peters of Boise, Idaho, sons Mark (Gayla) of Lawrence, Kansas, Michael (Colleen) of Weatherford, Oklahoma, Leonard (Kellie) of Fort Smith, Arkansas and daughters Deborah and Brenda of Wellington, Kansas, six grandchildren, Adam, Emily, Miranda, Justin, Michelle, and Andrew, and two great-grandchildren, Jaxon and Emma, as well as numerous cherished nieces and nephews.
Recitation of the Rosary will be held at 7:00 p.m. Friday May 6, 2022 and Mass of the Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, May 7, 2022, both at St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church in Caldwell. Graveside services will follow at 2:00 pm at Calvary Cemetery in Medford, Oklahoma.
Memorials may be made to Futures Unlimited, Interim Hospice or to Kansas for Life and sent in care of the mortuary.
Visitation will be held 9-5 Monday thru Friday.
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