At the age of 70, Jerry Schmidt passed away peacefully on Monday, September 10, 2018 and now is jamming in heaven on his guitar. Jerry’s family was present at his bedside in Prior Lake, MN.
A time of gathering honoring Jerry’s life will be held on Saturday, September 15, starting at 12 pm (noon), with closing words at 2:30 pm, followed by military honors provided by the Shakopee Veteran Honor Guard, all at Ballard-Sunder Funeral and Cremation 833 South Marschall Road, Shakopee, MN. To honor him, guests are encouraged to wear plaid. Jerry will be laid to rest at St. Peter and Paul’s Cemetery, Belle Plaine, MN on Monday, September 17, at 3 pm.
Gerald Elroy was born on December 28, 1947 to parents, Otto and Harriet (Buesgens) Schmidt. He grew in Belle Plaine, MN, with his younger brother, Thomas. As a child, Jerry had a special interest in sports, especially baseball. This interest started a lifelong passion of collecting baseball cards. He did the typical childhood play, but for Jerry, there always seemed to be mischief lurking in the shadows. He graduated from Belle Plaine High School in 1965.
Jerry enlisted in the United State Navy. Over the next three years, he was stationed in Japan, San Diego and Florida. Jerry married Debbie Ubl on October 1, 1982 and from his union were blessed with two children, Michael and Rachel. Unfortunately, in 2001 they parted ways. In 2004, Jerry found love again. He proposed to his first-grade girlfriend, Patsy Kechely. Through all these years, they have remained friends and now each other’s companion. Jerry welcomed and loved Patsy children and grandchildren like his own. Family was always extremely important to him.
Most of Jerry’s career was spent working for Minnegasco, now Center Point Energy, for over 28 years. He was responsible for the maintenance of placing the “stink in the gas!” Jerry loved his job and all the friendships of colleagues that where created over the years.
Jerry enjoyed and lived a simple life. At the age of 10, he received a guitar for Christmas, which led to a lifelong passion of music. A self-taught musician, Jerry relished his time playing in the Cactus Wine Band (CWB). He even passed down his love of music to his son, Michael. Together, they created JAM (Jerry and Michael), where Jerry and Michael played acoustic gigs together for years.
Besides family and music, Jerry enjoyed collecting trains. He spent countless hours creating a small-scale train scene, with tracks, buildings, people and landscape of mountains, streams and lakes. Jerry loved having conversations with people. But he found great pride in being able to slip in a quick topic on politics! Jerry loved finding a good deal in the store, even if it meant he already had several at home. In his spare time, Jerry loved attending the Minnesota State Fair, for other than the food and the live music. He took great pride in having the best yard in the neighborhood and not having a single dandelion! One of his favorite meals was sitting down at the table eating Walts Favorite Shrimp at Red Lobster.
The legacy of Jerry will be carried on in the hearts of his children, Michael (Ashley Carlson) Schmidt, Rachel (Matt Knaup) Schmidt, and their mother, Debbie Schmidt; lifelong friend, Patsy Kechely; many other relatives and devoted friends.
There to welcome Jerry home in heaven are his parents, Otto “Doc” and Harriet Schmidt and brother, Tom Schmidt.
