Obituary: Schmid, Vincent L.
Age 89
Vince was the oldest of seven children born to Frank and Mayme Schmid.
He is preceded in death by his wife of 45 years, Ruthanne (McDonnell), a sister, Marie Fuchs, and his two younger brothers, Ray and Bob Schmid.
He is survived by his five children; Dan Schmid of Everett, WA, Patricia Carroll of Kent, WA, Kathleen Buckmaster of Spokane, WA, Teresa Barker of Fort Worth, TX, and Mary Heavey of Spokane, WA, as well as 13 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
He is also survived by three younger sisters; Millie McDonnell, Florence Radermacher, and Sr. Alice Marie Schmid.
Vince’s family moved to Everett, WA in 1927 where he attended Our Lady of Perpetual Help School and Everett High School.
He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1943 where he was trained as an M.P.
He was part of the Normandy Invasion in 1944.
He and his group were crowded around a jeep in a landing craft in the first wave of the invasion when the jeep was hit by artillery fire.
Everyone at the front of the jeep was killed and the landing craft was towed back to the ship where Vince boarded another craft and headed back to the beach.
Once on shore, Vince directed vehicle movements and, as an M.P., held prisoners.
He spent the next nine months in France and Belgium and was discharged in February of 1945.
Upon his return, he attended Everett Junior College and Seattle University, earning a BS in Electrical Engineering.
In 1950, he was hired into civil service at Larson Air Force Base in Moses Lake, WA.
He married Ruthanne in 1954 and they began their family in at Moses Lake.
Vince transferred to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in 1965, and finally moved to Spokane in 1969, transferring to the Bonneville Power Administration.
He retired from civil service in 1984.
Vince was an active member of St. Thomas More Parish in Spokane; as a fourth-degree member of the Knights of Columbus, the Parish Council Chairman during efforts to raise funds and build a new church and parish center.
He was a founding member of the Spokane Center for Peace, presenting annual Marian Conferences at Gonzaga.
He also was part of a rosary-making group that met weekly making rosaries for Catholic missions.
A rosary will be said on Friday, April 19 at 7:00 pm at St. Rose of Lima Church, 320 D St. SW in Ephrata, WA.
The Mass of Catholic Burial will be held Saturday, April 20 at 11:00 at St. Rose with interment following at Ephrata Cemetery.
A memorial Mass will be held at St. Thomas More Church in Spokane on April 27th at 11:00.
Memorials may be made to St. Thomas More Parish in Spokane.
Nicoles Funeral Home of Ephrata is in charge of the arrangements.
Please express your thoughts and memories for the family at nicolesfuneralhome.com.