Obituaries 10/23/25

Donald Schmidt, 79

Donald Melvin Schmidt, age 79, lifelong Buffalo area farmer, died peacefully from dementia on Friday, October 10, 2025, at The Glenn Memory Care Facility in Buffalo.

Donald was born on April 6, 1946, to Raymond Emil and Emilie (Bayer) Schmidt. He was baptized on May 19, 1946, by Pastor E. Mehlberg at Immanuel Lutheran Church of rural Buffalo, and his godparents were Glenn and Selma Schmidt. He was instructed in the Lutheran Catechism and confirmed in his Christian faith on May 29, 1960, at Immanuel Lutheran Church with Pastor G. Geiger. He attended Schmidt Country School, District 88 through eighth grade, graduating from that one-room school on May 20, 1960, and went on to Buffalo High School, graduating on May 26, 1964.

His commitment to military service was fulfilled in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1965-1975. After basic training in Texas and Kentucky, he served in the Buffalo Armory with the 353rd Transportation Company and reached the rank of E6, Staff Sergeant.  

Donald enjoyed duck, pheasant, and squirrel hunting with his brother and deer hunting with the crew. He belonged to Happy Go Lucky 4-H Club and was President of Future Farmers of America. In his teenage and young adult years, he played on a softball team, which was sponsored by Sportsmen’s Café in Buffalo.  

Farming, both dairy and crop, on Green Mountain Farm near Buffalo, was his life’s occupation. Donald was the fourth-generation farmer of the land his great-grandfather homesteaded. As a young boy, he learned the ethics of hard work when he planted and harvested crops with his grandfather and father. Setting up bundle shocks of grain, driving tractor for the bundle team, and pitching bundles were skills he learned with the threshing crew of Henry, Raymond, Almond, and Glenn Schmidt and August Wagner.  

As equipment became modernized, Donald enjoyed his tractors and acquired a vast collection, large and small, of red Case IH and McCormick. In addition to the tractors used for farming, he had a collection of small models displayed on the farm porch. 

His greatest passion was his love of cattle and dairy farming.  He continued in the dairy business until his mid 70’s. Until shortly before his death, he often asked, “How are the cows doing on the farm?” 

He learned skills of cutting wood for heat and lumber and helped cut logs at the Schmidt sawmill. The maple trees on his property along County Road 34 have been admired for their beautiful fall colors and for the spring tapping of the trees for syrup.  

Donald and Krystyna Jankowski were married November 18, 2006. They later divorced. Together, they raised Lucky, a yellow lab, who was Donald’s loyal companion and was always at his side. When Lucky died in July 2023, Donald grieved his best pal’s death every day.

Donald grew up in Schmidt country, as the rural area east of Buffalo has been named. Like his father, he lived on the same farm his entire life and attended Immanuel Lutheran Church, built on land his great grandfather Traugott Schmidt donated. He lived near Schmidt Lake and attended Schmidt School. 

Aside from dairy farming, Donald’s interest was local government. For 27 years, he served on the Buffalo Township Board and was chairman for 20 years. He exhibited loyalty to grassroots township government. Maintaining good roads and a positive relationship with other township and county officials, ensuring safety for township residents, and keeping a stable financial balance were important issues for him.

In addition to the township office, he also served on the Wright County Board of Adjustments for 15 years and the Executive Committee of the Wright County Township Association.

He was on the Board of Directors for the Minnesota Valley Breeder’s Association, received an Outstanding Young Farmer Award from the Buffalo Jaycees, and was a Department of Natural Resources Fire Warden for ten years.

As a lifelong member of Immanuel Lutheran Church, he served on the church council and cemetery, building, and endowment committees.

In May 2018, Donald had a dissection of his aorta, which required a complicated 13-hour cardiovascular surgery. His medical team said it was a miracle of God that he survived. God gave Donald seven additional years of grace on earth and now has taken him to his heavenly home.  

Donald is survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Raymond Henry and Cathy Schmidt; sister and brother-in-law, Carol and Ken Meyer; nieces, Brittany (Grant) McFadden, Angela (Anthony) Pittman; nephew, Brady (Carmen) Meyer; great-nephews, Andrew and Anthony Schmidt and Elliott Pittman; great-nieces, Amelia Schmidt, Greta and Grace McFadden, Emilie Pittman, and Hazel Meyer.

He was preceded in death by grandparents, Henry and Johanna Schmidt, Gottlieb and Frieda Bayer; parents, Raymond Emil and Emilie Schmidt; nephew, Kevin Schmidt; and niece, Janelle Schmidt.

Funeral services were held on Sunday, October 19, at 3 p.m. at Immanuel Lutheran Church of rural Buffalo, reviewal was from 1-3 p.m., and burial followed in church cemetery.

Pallbearers were Bruce Schmidt, Jeff Schmidt, Bill Daluge, Terry Weese, Brady Meyer, and Andrew Schmidt.  

A special thanks to the staffs of The Glenn Memory Care and St. Croix Hospice for their compassionate and loving care to Donald in the last seven months of his life.  

The Peterson Chapel in Buffalo served the family. Online condolences may be made to www.thepetersonchapel.com.

William Schmidt, 90

William V. Schmidt

Bill “Sonny” Schmidt passed away peacefully at home on October 14, 2025, surrounded by family. He was born on February 14, 1935, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to William F. and Irene (Gilmore) Schmidt. Bill was baptized at St. Petri Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. He was raised with seven siblings in Corcoran by William and Ruth Schmidt. He was confirmed in 1949 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Hanover. He graduated from Buffalo High School in 1953.

In January 1955, Bill enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving in Europe until his honorable discharge in December 1957. In 1956, Bill married Irene Jeanne Meunier and welcomed a daughter, Theresa, and a son, William “Bill.” 

Bill was a hard worker and held various jobs until he landed at the Highway Department of Minnesota, where he worked from 1960 through 1972. The following year, in 1973, Bill decided to become his own boss and bought a Champion Auto Parts store, becoming a fixture in Buffalo. 

In 1975, Bill married the love of his life, Kathleen Olson, at the Little Brown Church in Chickasaw County, Iowa. They welcomed a daughter, Colleen.

The Champion Auto Parts store was sold in 1999, and Bill welcomed retirement by turning his love of “tinkering” into a clock making and repairing business. He also joined the craft fair community by transforming his woodworking hobby into a cherished business. He made music boxes and clocks, but his favorite creations were wooden toys, which were meticulously painted by Kathy. 

Bill had been a highly involved member of Life in Christ Lutheran Church in Albertville. He had served as a trustee, elder, and an usher for over 40 years. 

Throughout his life, Bill demonstrated his kind and generous nature not with words, but with a toy, a clock (or other handmade item), or by giving of his time and his attention. He took great care for the things and people entrusted to him and did not willingly take credit for his efforts. 

Bill is survived by his loving wife of 50 years, Kathy; his children, Theresa Bayard, William “Bill” (Jackie) Schmidt and Colleen (Ben) Hagemann; siblings, Dave (Marian) Schmidt and Kathy (Dave) Rognlien; brothers-in-law, Lee Reinking and Jim Hackenmueller; grandchildren, Ben Bayard, Liz Bayard, Rachel Schmidt, Jordan Hagemann, Sierra Hagemann, Aspen Hagemann, and Bryce Hagemann, as well as many other family and friends. 

Bill is preceded in death by his mother, Irene; his father, William; and his step-mother, Ruth; his siblings, Mari Kuhnley, Diana Reinking, Judy Hackenmueller, Gary Schmidt, and Valorie Schmidt; and his son-in-law, Tim Bayard.

Funeral worship service for Bill was held on Monday, October 20, at 11:00 a.m. with visitation one hour prior to the service at Life in Christ Lutheran Church, 5015 Main Ave. NE, Albertville, MN. There will be a luncheon following the service.  

Officiating was Pastor Michael Trask.

Interment at Elmwood Cemetery, 6499 Maple St, Rockford, MN, immediately following the luncheon.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Life in Christ Lutheran Church in Albertville.

Arrangements were entrusted to The Peterson Chapel in Buffalo, MN.

Clara Schreifels, 94

Clara Caroline Schreifels, age 94, died October 4, 2025, at The Legacy of St. Michael where she had resided since April 1, 2020. 

Clara was born on December 17, 1930, in Beardsley, MN, to Joseph and Katie (Luft) Borgheiinck.  She married Joseph “Joe” Rausch on January 25, 1950, at St. Charles Catholic Church in Big Stone City, SD. They were blessed with two sons and five daughters. They resided for most of their married years in Little Falls, MN.

After the death of Joe on January 2, 1968, Clara moved her family to Mound, MN. For a short time, she worked at Tonka Toys, then as a Certified Nurses Assistant for almost 20 years at Hillcrest Care Center in Wayzata, then at Park View Care Center in Buffalo.

On May 30, 1987, Clara was united in marriage to Eldred Schreifels at St. Peters Catholic Church in St. Cloud, MN. Clara and Eldred resided in St. Cloud. They had many happy years together until the death of Eldred on November 4, 2014.

Clara loved to sing and listen to many kinds of music. She was artistic and loved to paint and draw. She passed that talent onto many of her grandchildren. Her favorite times were those spent with her family.

Clara is survived by her children, Eleanor (Richard) Maurer, of Buffalo, Ardyce Oberg, of Hudson, WI, Patricia (Scott) Nelson, of Burtrum, Janice (Robert) Korth, of Hinckley, Joseph (Toni), of Buffalo, and Julie Price, of St. Paul; step-children, Henry (Lisa), of Minneapolis, Marvin, of St. Cloud, Dan (Shirley), of Waite Park, Debbie (Joel) Mousky, of Sauk Rapids, Wayne (Josile), of St. Cloud, Laverne (Kevin) Dingmann, of Rice, Marilyn Schreifels, of St. Cloud, and Marlene Schreifels, of St. Cloud; 23 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; and many nieces and nephews.

Clara is preceded in death by her parents; husband, Joseph Rausch; husband, Eldred Schreifels; son, Eugene Rausch; two infant daughters; sons-in-law, Thomas Oberg and Layne Price; brothers, Louis, Martin, Theodore, Joseph, Raymond, Edward, Richard, her twin brother, Clarence, and infant brother, Ivo; sisters Mary, Julia, Elizabeth, and Catherine.

Our family would like to thank the staff at The Legacy of St. Michael and Lifespark Hospice for the care, kindness, and respect shown to our mother and family.

Mass of Christian Burial for Clara will be held on Monday, November 3, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. with visitation one hour prior to the mass at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Buffalo, MN.  

Luncheon following the mass will be held at the Buffalo American Legion beginning approximately 12:30 P.M.

Interment will take place at a later date at Holy Family Catholic Cemetery in Belle Prairie, MN.

Arrangements were entrusted to The Peterson Chapel in Buffalo, MN.