Francis William “Bill” Schmidt, 88

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 on March 10, 1929.

At the early age of 17, Bill joined the Army. He spent two 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 four 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. 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 four 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 three great-granddaughters, Avery Theis, Claire Elizagaray and Millie Elizagaray.

Services will be held at noon on Saturday, March 10, at the Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home in Kalispell. A birthday celebration for Bill will begin following the service at Rosauers Deli.

Please visitwww.jgfuneralhome.com to leave condolences for the Schmidt family. Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home and Crematory is caring for the family.