Rosalie Schmidt, longtime resident of the Haven/Mt. Hope area passed away March 12, 2024. She celebrated her 95th birthday February 15th, 2024.
Rosalie was born February 15, 1929, on a farm near Follett, Texas. After graduating from high school, she moved to Kansas where she attended St. John’s College in Winfield and taught Lutheran school in Oberlin, KS for four years. She moved back briefly during WWII and worked at Boeing as a clerk. During this time, she met Lloyd Schmidt of Haven and they married on May 3, 1953. Together they raised three children, Elaine, Alan and Glen, on a farm in the Mt. Hope area. She taught for one year in the Cheney Lutheran School and then while maintaining their residence on the Mt. Hope farm, she and Lloyd moved to Seward, Nebraska to attend Concordia College. After Lloyd’s graduation the family relocated to Corder, Missouri where Lloyd and Rosalie both taught for three years before coming back to reside at Mt. Hope where Lloyd resumed farming full-time.
Lloyd passed away the day before her 87th birthday in 2016 and Rosalie was left to live alone in her home in Haven with her beloved rat terrier Elsa until November 1, 2023 when she recently moved to Park West in Wichita where she quickly made new friends among the staff and residents alike. She continued to enjoy quilting, gardening, baking and canning right through the last years of her life. She volunteered at the Haven Food Bank for many years. Rosalie loved music and at any time classical music could be heard playing on the radio in her house. She played piano herself and was the organist for Holy Shepherd Lutheran Church for over 20 years. She gave many local children piano lessons and also enjoyed playing the accordion, even participating in an accordion performance group complete with matching hats and costumes.
Rosalie was a lifelong and active Lutheran, teaching Sunday School, cooking and organizing church dinners. She enjoyed being part of the quilter’s group at church and was constantly quilting at home. As her grandchildren came along, she spent many days babysitting and was able to really get to know her grandchildren as they grew with the time they spent together.
Rosalie is survived by her three children: Elaine (Warren) Miller, Mt. Hope, KS; Alan (Sylvia) Schmidt, Mt. Hope, KS; Glen (Laura) Schmidt, Broken Arrow, OK. Surviving grandchildren are: Brian (Janet) Miller, Kari (Michael) Clouse, Sara (Travis) Schram, Marshall (Victoria) Schmidt), Monica (Brett) Spicer, Scott (Audrey) Schmidt, Brent (Morgan) Schmidt, Melissa (Jacob) Rudolph. Rosalie has thirteen great grandchildren with 2 on the way.
Graveside services will be held at 9:30 a.m., Saturday, April 6, 2024 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church Cemetery, Haven, KS. Memorial services will follow at 11 a.m., Saturday, at Christ Lutheran Church, 5356 N Hillside St, Wichita, KS 67219. Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m., Friday, April 5, at Ott Funeral Home, Haven. Memorials can be given in the name of Haven Food Bank or Christ Lutheran Church, Wichita, KS in care of Ott Funeral Home, PO Box 217, Haven, KS 67543.