Wayne Schmitt

On December 29, 1939 Wayne Elmer Schmitt came into this world on the family farm in Pottawattamie County Iowa, just outside the village of Hancock, Iowa. He started his education in a one room schoolhouse 2 miles from home. He attended 4th-11th grade at the Hancock School, and graduated from Avoca High School in Avoca, Iowa.

Wayne loved to learn and figure things out. He continued his education at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, Drake University in Des Moines, IA, then back to the University of Iowa, and Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He studied math and physics, with his favorite class being nuclear physics.

In December of 1961 Wayne joined the United States Marine Corps Reserves. After basic training he returned to IA and worked for General Mill Supply in Marion, Iowa. He designed grain bins and elevators. He was discharged from the United States Marine Corps Reserves in 1967 as a Sargent.

Wayne met Wilma J. Litterer, his future bride of 62 years, on October 31, 1961 at a YWCA dance in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He married Wilma in her hometown of Greene, Iowa on October 21, 1962. Wayne went into designing electrical work in MN and WI before becoming a Master Electrician. He worked for People’s Electric as an estimator, and then a general foreman on large building projects around the Twin Cities and Duluth. They built a house on a small lake between Forest Lake and Scandia, MN. Soon they had a son, Robert, and daughter, Angela. 

Wayne and Wilma bought the old bus barn in Scandia in 1975 intending to remodel it into offices. That same year, at age 35, Wayne was diagnosed with kidney disease and was given 10 years to live. That did not stop him though. He and Wilma remodeled the bus barn, and Wayne helped remodel several other buildings in Scandia as well.

In the Fall of 1985, after being on dialysis, Wayne was nearing the end of his life when he received the gift of a kidney transplant. Again, the transplant did not stop him. He celebrated 39 years as a kidney transplant survivor on October 27, 2024. Even though he had to undergo the replacement of both his hips at the same time, due to the transplant drugs, he and Wilma started their own electrical company, Schmitt Electric.

Over the years Wayne served on the Elim Lutheran Church Council, the church Property Committee, taught Sunday School, spearheaded the uptown sewer system of Scandia, worked on the Elim Cemetery Committee for many years drawing the maps of both cemeteries for online, was a Scandia-Marine Lion for 38 years before joining the Gold Canyon AZ Lions Club last year. He was a Mason, receiving the Hiram award in October of 2024. 

Even though Wayne kept going, there were many health hurdles after the transplant besides the hips. He was able to handle them until a bad fall in 2021. He still did not let that stop him though, finding he could still do most things using crutches. He very seldom missed daily coffee chats at Reub’s in Forest Lake.

Wayne loved talking, laughing, and telling stories with all people, building and remodeling (he could fix anything), traveling with Wilma to all 50 states, Europe and Israel. He loved flying one of the 3 airplanes he owned with friends over the years. He was known for making his homemade ice cream to share with family and friends. He looked forward to spending any time he could with his kids and grandkids whom he was so proud of.

Wayne was preceded in death by his parents, Elmer and Viola Schmitt, and his sister, Janet Hougen, brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Merlin and Linda Litterer.

He is survived by his wife Wilma, son Robert of San Francisco, CA, daughter Angela (Jeffrey) Thelemann of Burnsville, MN, granddaughters Jessica (Mitchell) Ketterling, Kayla (Aaron Pagel) Thelemann, many brother-in-laws and sister-in-laws, nieces, nephews, family and friends. All of whom will miss him greatly.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, February 7, 2025 at Elim Lutheran Church, 20971 Olinda Trail North, Scandia, Minnesota. The family will greet friends from 4:00-6:00 p.m., Thursday at Mattson Funeral Home, 343 North Shore Drive, Forest Lake with a Masonic Service at 6:00 p.m.  The family will greet friends from 10:00-11:00 a.m., Friday at the church.  Interment at Elim Lutheran Cemetery.  In lieu of flowers, the family is directing donations to the Kidney Foundation of MN and Elim Lutheran Church Cemetery in Scandia, MN.