Albert Harold Schmidt Jr.

Albert “Bert” Schmidt was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on December 2, 1936, to Albert Harold Schmidt and Elizabeth Jeffery Schmidt.

Up until the time of World War II, the Schmidt family spent their summers working a large ranch near Laramie, Wyoming where they raised Black Angus cattle. They spent winters in Kansas City, MO, where AH Schmidt Sr. and Bert’s grandfather, Albert Henry Schmidt, had a cattle feed business. Bert and his younger brother Tom began each school year in a small, one-room schoolhouse in WY. When haying season was over, they transferred to a school in KC for the winter.

For much of his life, Bert was a strong supporter of the Boy Scouts of America; a passion he inherited from his father. Bert advanced to Eagle Scout and beyond, earning Bronze, Gold, and Silver Palms and "The God and Country Award." He was inducted into the Tribe of Mic-O-Say, a special group of more experienced Boy Scouts built around Native American traditions.

In 1955, Bert graduated from Pembroke Country Day School in Kansas City where he played tennis and soccer. He then attended the University of Colorado, where he was member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. While at CU, Bert met Ann Garstka and they married in August 1959. Bert received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and a second Bachelor degree in Business Administration.

Bert and Ann had three children, Andy, Susan, and Jeff. Bert worked as an electrical engineer for the Bureau of Reclamation in Denver, CO until 1973, when he took a job with the Bonneville Power Administration in Portland, Oregon. Bert and Ann divorced in 1984. Bert married his second wife, Carol Schick, in November 1985. They lived in together in Beaverton OR, until her death in 2008.

From 1957 right up until his death, Bert was a passionate Ham radio operator. He made contact with other “Hams” in Israel, Australia, Great Britain, Malaysia, India and Africa in addition to Canada and the US. Bert taught Novice Ham Radio licensing exam classes at Portland Community College, provided radio support for Cycle Oregon and many running races, and was involved in emergency preparedness. One of his favorite activities was the annual Ham Radio Convention in Seaside, OR. Even in the last weeks of his life, Bert was involved in weekly “net” check-ins.

Bert is survived by his first wife, Ann Schmidt of Denver; his children Andrew (Minneapolis), Susan (Denver), and Jeffrey (Los Gatos, CA); his step-children Leslie Schick (Anchorage) and Paul Schick (Beaverton); six grand-children, and one great-grandchild.