Betty Louise Schmidt

Betty Louise Schmidt

Betty Smith Schmidt was born to Henry and Eva Becker Smith on October 11, 1929, in Halstead, Kansas. She passed away on January 13, 2026, at Newton Medical Center.

Betty spent the early years of her life in the Halstead and Moundridge communities. When she was eight years old, her family moved to Fredonia, Kansas. This is where she completed her eight years of schooling and spent her growing-up years. In 1946, the family moved to the Burns community.

At thirteen, Mom answered the call of God to become His child. Following a new birth experience, she was baptized on April 23, 1943, by Minister Harry D. Wenger. She was unwavering in her faith and endured to the end.

On November 29, 1953, Mom was married to our dad, Marvin Schmidt, in Burns, Kansas, by Minister Norman Eicher. Shortly after they married, Dad took Mom back to Roseburg, Oregon, to complete his years of 1-W service. After his years of service, they returned to Burns and raised their two girls, Gloria and Barbara.

Mom was a true farm wife. She loved yard work, her garden, raising and butchering chickens, and helping Dad on the farm by driving the truck or pickup and trailer to the grain elevator, sometimes snapping fresh green beans while waiting in the truck. She also loved to cook and always had plenty of canned goods on the shelf. We never remember her arguing with Dad, and they worked together at making a living. Mom worked for 23 years at the local café in Burns, working for three different employers and making many friends in the community.

Life was real for Mom and Dad, and they were real people. They had difficult times, but they always got up, kept moving forward, and made it through.

Mom kept her way open through life, and her relationship with the Lord deepened as the years rolled by. She left a testimony that she knew of nothing between her and the Lord on the morning she was admitted to the hospital.

Left to cherish her precious memories are her children, Gloria and Karl Koehn of Indianola, Mississippi, and Barbara and Steve Koehn of Newton, Kansas; seven grandchildren and sixteen great-grandchildren; two sisters, Vivian and Crist Swarey, and Velma and Verlin Koehn, both of Almena, Wisconsin; one brother, John and Norma Smith of Moundridge, Kansas; and one sister-in-law, Hope Becker of Halstead, Kansas.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Marvin Schmidt; her parents; two sisters, Viola Koehn and Irene Smith; two brothers, Marvin and Homer; two sisters-in-law; and three brothers-in-law.