Margaret Schmidt

Margaret Ann Schmidt age 90 of New Hampton, Iowa died Friday, July 17, 2020, at the New Hampton Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 21, 2020, at Holy Family Parish, New Hampton with Rev. Brian Dellaert celebrating the Mass. Interment will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery, New Hampton. Friends may greet the family 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. Monday, July 20, 2020, at the Hugeback-Johnson Funeral Home & Crematory in New Hampton. Visitation continues an hour prior to the service at the church on Tuesday. Margaret Ann Schmidt was born July 3, 1930, on her family’s farm near Fredericksburg, IA, the daughter of Clarence and Beatrice (Joebgen) Burgart, and she crammed a lot of life into her 90 years. She attended country school, graduated from a boarding school in Dubuque and then attended Upper Iowa University in Fayette to earn her teaching license. She taught at country school for a few years, but her life changed forever that one night she decided to go with friends to the skating rink in New Hampton. It was there that she met Carl Schmidt, and the two quickly fell in love. On Oct. 4, 1952, they eloped, travelling to Cedar Rapids and exchanging vows at the Justice of the Peace. Thus began one heck of a marriage. It lasted for almost 65 years and produced seven children — Carla, Cubby, Mary Ellen, William, Susan, Tom and David — along with 20 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. Margaret Ann always lived life to the fullest, and she was the type of woman who said what was on her mind. Put it this way, if she had something to say, she was going to say it. The Schmidts farmed for a while before Carl self-taught himself the ins and outs of cooling and refrigeration and opened his own business, and Margaret Ann’s husband became known as “Cool Carl.” The family, though, remained on the farm, where Margaret used all that “free help” in her garden that was both bountiful with vegetables and beautiful with flowers. She liked to camp, go trail riding, play Euchre (and tell you what you did wrong, too!) and travel, and over her lifetime, she literally spanned the globe — travelling to places like New York, Alaska, San Diego, Germany, Australia and Ireland. In 1993, she went into business, owning and operating Maggie’s Bar in Fredericksburg for 15 or so years, and trust us, the “day bartender” was a straight shooter. Margaret Ann adored her grandchildren and greats, and they, in turn, knew they had one very unique grandmother. She was a member of a card club and the “Happy Hour Group,” a group of women that included Margaret Ann, Mabel, Edith, Valeria and Wilma over the years. All we know for sure is that it had to be one of the liveliest gatherings around. “Cool Carl” passed away in 2017, and although she put on a “brave face,” it was a devastating loss to this spunky, feisty woman. Yet, she carried on, and to give you an idea of how active she was, Margaret Ann took a trip to Ireland the following summer because every 88-year-old woman is a world traveller, right? We’re probably already in trouble for the length of this obituary, but we’re hoping Margaret Ann has her hands full getting Carl back in-line up in Heaven so we’ll end this story with this: Margaret Ann packed a millennium of life into her 90 years, and the stories her kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, friends and customers can tell about this remarkable woman will provide them plenty of great memories and laughs for years to come. Survivors include four sons, Cubby Schmidt, William Schmidt both of New Hampton, IA, Tom (Marcia) Schmidt of Marion, IA, David (Gayle) Schmidt of New Hampton; three daughters, Carla (Roger) Dreckman of Lawler, IA, Mary Ellen (Tim) Alex of Springhill, KS, Susan (Kyle) Tougas of Fort Ripley, MN; 20 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; one sister, Theresa Cox of CO; She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Carl Schmidt on September 6, 2017; daughter-in-law, Lori Schmidt; brother-in-law, Ben Cox.