- Date Of Birth: March 10, 1929
- Date Of Death: March 7, 2018
- State: Montana
Francis William (Bill) Schmidt
Bill’s life journey came to a peaceful end on March 7, 2018, only 3 days before his 89th birthday.
He was born in Columbia Falls, MT on March 10, 1929.
At the early age of 17, Bill joined the Army. He spent 2 years in the Peace Keeping Force of World War II. He served his country with honor in Japan and Korea.
In 1950, he married Delores Aaberg. Together they had 4 children. Bill and Delores divorced in 1974. He was married to Mary Donnelly from 1977 until she passed away in 2005.
Bill wore several hats throughout his lifetime. He was a lineman for Bonneville Power, worked on the construction of the Hungry Horse Dam, and also helped with the building of the Anaconda Aluminum Plant in Columbia Falls. He then owned a TV/radio repair shop. On the next fork of his journey he became a licensed insurance and real estate agent. He kept his brokers license active until 2015. While on this path, he also received his pilot license. He mainly flew for fun, but for a short span, he was co-owner of a small plane that flew daily from Kalispell to Spokane, WA. The next bend in Bill’s life landed him into the construction business. He retired from this profession in 1977.
Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Frank Carl Schmidt and Elsie Louise “Bessie” (Greve) Schmidt and sister Roberta (Mae) Knutson.
He is survived by 4 children Patsy (Butch) Ross, Marilyn (Mike) Theis, Carla Schmidt and Dale Schmidt. Grandchildren Brandon Theis, Kacie (Theis) Elizagaray, Shae (Buggs) Trautwein, and Travis Schmidt. He has 3 great-grand daughters, Avery Theis, Claire Elizagaray and Millie Elizagaray.
