ForeverMissed
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Michael Stephen Schmidt, 70, of North Las Vegas, Nevada, passed from this world peacefully in his sleep on Saturday morning, September 28, 2019, in his home.

Mike was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, on May 1, 2019, but fully adopted Texas as his home. He graduated from Kermit High School where he played baritone in the marching band. Mike served in the Army/Army Reserves for 28 years, and retired a Lieutenant Colonel. He was an elder at First Christian Church while living in Amarillo, and an avid and active member of Toastmasters International. He loved baseball, John Wayne movies, and his wife's cooking.


He married his first and only love, Sheila O'Keefe Schmidt, on December 29, 1973, in Amarillo, Texas. Sheila survives him in life, as well as his two daughters Elizabeth Curtis and Mary Wakefield, and his grandchildren, Rain and David Curtis. His greatest joy in life was his marriage; his pride for ""how well his daughters turned out" was a close second.

We know Mike would like to be remembered for his sense of humor, his kindness, and his ability in public speaking. He would like his golf game to be forgotten as quickly as possible.

A memorial service and interment will be held May 2, 2020 at his youngest daughter's house: 1177 Harbor Oak Drive in Crownsville, Maryland. If you want to let her know you are coming, her email is mary.s.wakefield@gmail.com 
Please take a moment to click on "Stories," to add your favorite memories of Mike. These will be precious to his family in the months ahead.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to High Plains Food Bank, your local food bank, or the Salvation Army.

September 4, 2022
September 4, 2022
Still remember our ROTC days. Nighthawks forever!
September 28, 2021
September 28, 2021
I miss you more than ever. I miss your whistling, I miss the coffee that you brought me every morning, and your silly notes. I still have a couple of your notes on the wall. Thank you for all the love.
May 4, 2020
May 4, 2020
To all who are following, we have delayed my father's memorial until such time as my mother and sister are able to travel to Maryland. I will do my best to inform everyone else who wanted to come pay their final respects. Feel free to email me at mary.s.wakefield@gmail.com if you want to be on the list.
Much love,
Mary
May 1, 2020
May 1, 2020
I have nothing but good memories of Mike. He was an always-dependable friend and his dry sense of humor made me laugh! I miss him!
October 8, 2019
October 8, 2019
I had the pleasure and honor to serve under Mike's leadership when he was Division Governor of Toastmasters International in District 44. He lead his team with his famous wit and humor, which made it a fun and pleasant experience. My sincere sympathies to the family.
October 5, 2019
October 5, 2019
I think one of my things was laughing with Mike and realizing how much I enjoyed being his sister-in-law. Not many people can say that. I loved seeing and hearing how proud he was of his family.
October 3, 2019
October 3, 2019
One of the things I remember about Mike was how much he loved dogs -- and they loved him. Once, while Mike & Sheila were visiting Mary in MD, and Mary was babysitting Rufus and Fozzie for Liz, Fozzie came directly to Mike and asked for a good scratch. They developed an immediate affinity. I then remember Mike telling me about his dogs in TX, and how much they enjoyed their occasional 'rough-housing' in the yard with him. I'm pretty sure Fozzie and friends will be looking for him!
October 3, 2019
October 3, 2019
Mike was a great guy and he brightened my days at Pantex. I'm sorry to hear of his passing but honored and happy to have known him. RIP Mike, we'll miss you!
October 2, 2019
October 2, 2019
Good old Mike was born May 1, 1949 and I was born May 2, 1949, so we were like two peas in a pod. I just thought I was crazy till I met Mike.Lol..He was like the brother I never had, you might say a brother from another mother and we got into quite a bit of stuff, (all legal and funny) and no animals were injured during our escapades. The night we set off the "fireworks" at the sandhills was awesome but one I remember didn't quite roll down the hill as we had planned and it went off and blew us off the hill top. Couldn't see or hear for a few minutes but we laughed like we had good sense. He will be dearly missed but lives on in our memories. Fern his mother, who we all called mom would laugh when we called and asked for "Pila" after she figured it out. Great family and they are all missed too.
October 1, 2019
October 1, 2019
Mike was a kind and gentle soul. I was proud and honored to call him friend for more than a quarter of a century. He was a reliable and loyal compatriot. If you needed anything and Mike said he would deliver, you could count on it being done. His humor (even the retelling of the same funny stories countless times!) and companionship will be sorely missed. 
October 1, 2019
October 1, 2019
I met Mike in 1965, after moving from Wink to Kermit at midterm. Although he was 2 years older, we ended up in the same Spanish class. We were both jokesters and shared the same sense of humor .I spent a good amount of time at his house as we both ended up on NORTH D. I LOVED his Mom And Dad and always felt welcome. Richard Crow was also a part of the triad. We were all in IN K-Band and were always pulling pranks (many times on Fern, Mikes Mom).
The one ,really big one, was When Mike was home from collage .HE was a quartermaster for R.O.T.C. at Canyon, and he snuck some cool stuff back home. We set off some artillery simulators and smoke grenades at a fireworks party at the sandills, Then topped it off with some parachute flares by the drive inn theater ,making it COMPLETELY Daylight there. NO ONE KNEW WHO DID IT, until just now.
I LOVED that guy. I met his family when I was in El Paso, years ago. Beautiful Bunch.
I was thrilled to see him at a class reunion in 2017..  I WILL TRULY MISS HIM. (through tears I can state that I already do)
HE WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN
God bless you, Family.   "Hoggie"
October 1, 2019
October 1, 2019
I had an unbelievable happy childhood. The best parents I could imagine. Daddy loved us so completely and uncondonditionally. I will miss him forever; I am so glad there was so much love there, to result in so much grief.

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Recent Tributes
September 4, 2022
September 4, 2022
Still remember our ROTC days. Nighthawks forever!
Recent stories
May 1, 2020
When I would go out to :Las Vegas I would get to tell him "good morning", he would make me breakfast on Saturday, and I loved to listen to him and Sheila hassle each.
  
October 3, 2019
I moved from a small town in Alabama to Los Angeles, CA when I was fairly young... I'd been 20 for less than 3 months. I was nervous, excited, and had no idea what I was in for since I was playing a lot of it by ear. Mike and Sheila kindly let me spend the night at their home while I was making the trek. While we were visiting that evening, Mike started giving advice on driving through the desert... freezing a water bottle the night before so you have cold water all day, general car care tips, etc. Then he started telling me tales of his experiences in LA Including $8 glasses of OJ as far as the eye could see, and tires melting on the highway from the heat. There were a couple of others, but those are the ones that stand out. I'd never been so far from home by myself, and was a pretty gullible person well into my 20's. I don't think it was until I'd been here for a bit that it dawned on me that he was totally messing with me and I immediately realized that he'd had a twinkle in his eye the entire time he was pulling my leg that evening. He also taught me the glory of french press coffee the following morning. It's still my favorite.

Mike’s 21st Birthday Baptism...

October 2, 2019
Mike turned 21 about a month before several of us had to go to ROTC Summer Camp at Ft. Sill, OKlahoma, so serious shenanigans were simply out of the question for his birthday.  This left Palo Duro Canyon and environs as the only worthy option for innocent but memorable fun.  We made it only as far as Six Gun City, a recently closed tourist “must see” (wink-wink) attraction near the park entrance.  Abandoned a few years earlier, it had been the site of many OK Corral-type gunfights and still had several buildings, corrals, hitching posts, and...an honestly ancient watering trough, somehow full, slime-covered, and absolutely foul smelling.  After walking around near the canyon rim and exploring (trespassing) the land and the old buildings, Mike made the mistake of commenting on how warm the weather was.  Well, it WAS his birthday, so..he put up a real good fight, but he was only one person, and there were four others of us, and after “rasslin’” him a bit in the dirt, we threw him completely in and under that nasty water!  Mike stood up, dripping green slime and smelling vile, and said, “Man, that was refreshing!”  With that, he went under a second time and came up grinning.  One of the guys offered a hand to help Mike out, and Mike snatched him and pulled him into the trough, too.  Lord, did they stink! We laughed and rode around a bit, and about sundown we stopped on a small bridge in Hunsley Hills, a new subdivision north of Canyon.  Mike said something like, “Well, the sun has set on my birthday, and y’all still stink!”  So we took off our shoes and all jumped in that neighborhood creek to rinse off the stench of that trough.

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