Karol Marie Schmidt

Karol M. Schmidt was born on June 27, 1945 to Howard and Marie Hubby in Boone, IA. She grew up in the town of Boone as well as at Fort Dodge, the base her father Colonel Howard Hubby commanded, with her older sister Karen Pearson. She learned a lot of values in her formative years including her love for God, respect for authority & elders, helping others in need, hard work, sharing and standing up for what one believes in.

She and her sister were inseparable throughout life. They went to college and graduated from Iowa State University. Mom proudly lettered in Swimming, specifically, Synchronized Swimming. To this day, she’s the only letter winner in the family! Karol met and married Douglas G. Schmidt while at Iowa State, and they had two children, Michelle Pierce and Stephen Schmidt. Doug was the love of her life and soulmate. She followed him around the country, moving from state to state. He was lost to us on June 23, 2020, and mom has been waiting to see him again ever since.

Mom loved sports, particularly softball and tennis. She made the front page of the local paper playing for her softball team with her infamous one-handed back pedal catch! She played tennis competitively with her husband and according to some, with our lord Jesus Christ right there on the court, to the end. She played catch with her son, tennis with her daughter and constantly amazed her children’s friends with her athleticism. She used sports to teach us to be disciplined, prepare ahead of time, practice until you don’t get it wrong, be mentally tough & shut out the negative noise. She taught us to give it everything we had and there was no quit in Schmidt. She taught us to know our own strengths and weaknesses and to play to them or work on them accordingly. She always wanted us to know who we were and to own it.

Mom was loving, proud, humble, caring, logical, driven, firm and giving. She instilled these values in her children, and in her grandchildren (Cole Pierce, Drew and Kathryn Schmidt). She worked hard, full and part-time, her whole life. She was a teacher, an interior designer for Ethan Allan and ran the household while her husband traveled for the military and work. While working at Ethan Allan, mom was promoted to the point she reported to the owner and had direct oversight over all the design sets put forth for publication. She loved it. In truth though, teaching was probably her greatest test and a source of humor. Her ‘kids’ often tested the rules in school, yet she was always able to maintain her position of authority with them by providing a firm, but loving hand. Later, she was frequently caught at home laughing hysterically with her friends at what we/they had done.

Those ‘kids’, often adopted by mom throughout their lives, became part of the family. From making sandwiches for the baseball team, writing absentee notes for Michelle’s friends, to later in life creating a place where we, adopted friends and all, could rest, feel safe and recuperate knowing we were in her care. She was our best friend yet still our parental figure giving us feedback we may not have wanted but needed to hear. Her love was unconditional, and mom was loved back by all her ‘kids’.

Karol loved life. She was sociable in the various communities she lived in throughout her life, creating lifelong friendships around the country. She loved to have fun and went wherever fun called, to the point even her license plate read “too fun”. She said, “If it wasn’t fun, I’m not doing it for long unless it had to be done”. She taught us that some things we just have to work through, fun or not. She said that people who worked hard & found ways to have fun enjoyed the rewards of their work. She reminded us that when you’re having fun, others want to join you because, well, who doesn’t like fun?

Karol passed away on March 3, 2024, at the age of 78. To say she’ll be missed is an understatement. She gave it everything and asked for nothing but worked hard for all she had. The services will be held 11:00 am on March 21, 2024 at Lakeside United Methodist. She will be buried at a future time in Arlington National Cemetery with her soul mate and true love, LTC. Douglas G. Schmidt. She is survived by her sister, her daughter and son, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, her ‘kids’, friends and their families. In lieu of flowers, please support or make a donation in Karol’s name to The Special Olympics. Mom volunteered for them and coached pickleball to those with special needs. https://support.specialolympics.org/a/tribute-gifts?ms=wwwTribute&ttype=1&utm_source=wwwTribute&utm_medium=www&utm_campaign=ways-to-give. Click on the button, Honor in Memory Of: and type in Karol Schmidt. Please do click on the notify a loved one button so we can thank you.

Most importantly, please write on the memorial page below and share stories, memories or just simple love you shared with mom.