Schmidt, Helen Mabel (Grant) 1925-2010
SCHMIDT, GRANT, BARTH, LOOMIS, ESTAY-GEORGE, STEEL, ESTAY, FJELSTAD, BROWN
Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 11/27/2012 at 14:26:07
Helen M. Schmidt, age 84, of Decorah, IA, died Tuesday morning, June 22, 2010 at Winneshiek Medical Center in Decorah.
Memorial Services will be held at 11:00 A.M. Monday, June 28, 2010 at First United Methodist Church in Decorah with Rev. John Caldwell officiating. Inurnment will be in Phelps Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 4:00-7:00 P.M. Friday, June 25 at Fjelstul Funeral Home in Decorah and on Monday one hour before the service at the church.
Helen Mabel Grant was born October 18, 1925 in Pleasant Township, Winneshiek County, Iowa, the oldest child and only daughter of Fred and Hazel (Barth) Grant. The family moved to Decorah when Helen was two.
She was educated in the Decorah Public Schools and was an honor student throughout her school years. She participated in drama, debate, vocal and instrumental music.
Upon graduating in 1943, Helen moved to St. Louis, MO where she was engaged in work relating to World War II. There she met and married ex-paratrooper Melvin A. Schmidt and became the mother of two boys and two girls: Randall, Sandra, Candyce, and Brandon.
Always the champion of children’s rights and the need for good educational systems, Helen was president of Roe Meyer Stern Preschool PTA and Roe School PTA, and on the St. Louis Council. During these tenures she was honored by the mayor of St. Louis for her work with the effort to secure a Junior College and gained international media attention when she led the women in her PTA, armed with baseball bats, and took back the neighborhood park from a gang of hoodlums. The ladies continued to patrol the park until the summer recreation program was reopened, the badly damaged park was restored to its original beauty and an adult education program was opened at Roe School. She also took part in an effort to rehabilitate members of the gang and saw many of them return to school.
Helen was also active in scouts, serving as a Den Mother and Pack treasurer in Boys Scouts, and a Girl Scout Brownie leader for several years.
She was divorced in 1966, and preferring to raise her family in a small town, she moved back to Decorah. She worked for many years as office manager of a medical clinic, and then had a day care center in her home for several years.
Helen was a long time member of the First United Methodist Church and a charter member and active participant in the Decorah Community Theatre. Deeply patriotic, she enjoyed her affiliation with the Daughters of the American Revolution and was twice regent of Hannah Lee chapter; she also held offices in the American Legion Auxiliary Post 163. In 1992 she was again recognized for her work on a school expansion program and her efforts as a fund raiser for a new high school auditorium.
After her retirement in 1987 she continued to keep busy with countless volunteer activities such as a guide at Vesterheim Norwegian American Museum and the Porter House Museum, fund raising events for many causes and many activities involving children. Helen was a regular volunteer at the Decorah Genealogy Library, and active member of the Winneshiek County Historical Society, Decorah Genealogy Association, RSVP, Oneota Questers 1446, and a frequent contributor to the opinion page of the Decorah Newspapers. She could always be counted on to house visitors to Decorah through church and community activities and enjoyed the experience even when they did not speak English.
Helen collected bells and cribbage boards, loved to play cribbage, travel, dance, theatre, concerts, dining out with friends, cooking and entertaining. Her greatest love was spending time with her children and grandchildren and learning about the family history.
Helen is survived by her four children: Randall (Cindy) Schmidt of Blaine, MN, Sandra (Tom) Loomis of Arvada, CO, Candyce (John) Estay-George of Las Vegas, NV, and Brandon (Deb) Schmidt of Decorah, IA; five grandchildren: Justin, Lindsay and Courtney Schmidt, Allison (Caleb) Steel and Alexis Estay; one great grandson, Gregory Schmidt; and many beloved nephews and nieces.
She was preceded in death by her father, Fred A. Grant in 1987; her mother, Hazel G. Grant in 1992; two brothers, Wallace in 1974 and Charles in 2006; and two sisters-in-law: Sylvia Fjelstad Grant and Kay Brown Grant.
Source: Fjelstul Funeral Home database
Phelps Cemetery
Winneshiek Obituaries maintained by Jeff Getchell.
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