by Dennis Dalman
Othmar Schmitz is just five years shy of being 100 years old, but there is nothing “old” about him. He is active, ambitious, energetic, sharp as a tack, and when he talks, the words roll off his tongue with great gusto and humor.
He loves life; he loves to laugh.
Schmitz was recently chosen to be the grand m`arshal in this summer’s St. Joseph Fourth of July parade. He and his wife, Marilyn, will be waving to the cheering sidewalk crowds lining Minnesota Street.
When St. Joseph resident Joe Bechtold asked Schmitz if he would accept the honor of being named Grand Marshal, he replied, “Well, yes, I’d be tickled!”
A World War II veteran, Schmitz has had such a busy, hard-working, adventurous life that it would exhaust some people just to hear about it. Born to John and Theresa (Schramel) Schmitz and the great grandson of immigrants from Germany, he was raised on a dairy farm just northwest of Richmond and later worked as a hired hand on other farms in the area.
He left farming in 1945 to join the U.S. Army. After training as an artillery gunner at Fort Bliss, Texas and Fort Ord, Calif., Schmitz was assigned to duty in Panama for two years, returning to Minnesota after his discharge in 1947. He worked for the Cold Spring Granite Co., for the Cold Spring Brewing Co. and later for many years as an electrician for the Great Northern Railroad (rail) Car Shops in Waite Park until that place closed in 1985 and its operations relocated to the Havelock car shop just outside of Lincoln, Neb. From there, Schmitz retired in 1989.
Flashback to many years earlier, 1949, when Schmitz met and married the love of his life, Marilyn, in a church in Rockville. They lived for years in Cold Spring, but then decided to start up a dairy farm just north of St. Joseph, on land near where the Pleasant Acres neighborhood is now.
They raised eight children – one girl and seven boys. Sadly, three of the children died when they were still quite young: Doris (of cancer), Vernon (from a disease caused by asbestos exposure during his U.S. Navy job), and Daryl (of a heart condition).
The remaining children are David, Ronald, Daniel, Randy and Todd.
Othmar and Marilyn loved to travel throughout their lives together. They enjoyed 19 cruise-ship vacations and visited the world over: Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Australia, the Caribbean islands, Hawaii and Alaska. They have been in all of the United States except for one – North Carolina.
They still travel now and then but on bus trips.
In spite of their busy lives, the Schmitzes always found the time for volunteer work. They helped the Meals on Wheels program for 20 years, volunteered at the St. Joseph Food Shelf for 25 years, helped serve dinners at St. John’s University and worked at the St. Benedict Convent in its dining room and its mailing department. They still help out with the mailings.
Othmar also helps priests with the Catholic Mass at funerals and helps the clergy give communion to people who are homebound.
The Schmitzes now live in the Woodcrest of Country Manor retirement apartment complex in St. Joseph.
“We really like it here,” Othmar said. “So many activities, like playing card games and so many other social things to do. We’ve been living here for almost six years. We walk a lot every day inside this building, and when it’s warm, we walk outside. We also do all our own cooking. We’re always doing something, and I never take my telephone with me when we go someplace. It causes interruptions.”
Marilyn and Othmar have been married 73 years, and Othmar has been an active member of the American Legion in St. Joseph for 76 years. He was recently honored at a Legion banquet with a certificate of commendation for his many decades of dedicated service.
The Schmitzes never stop planning, plunging into activities, going places, visiting people. Before they make their waving appearance in the Fourth of July parade, they just might (who knows?) make it down to North Carolina, that only state they haven’t seen. Yet.
Othmar Schmitz has been named Grand Marshal for this summer’s Fourth of July parade in St. Joseph. He will ride in the parade with his wife, Marilyn, to whom he has been married for 73 years.
