Duane “Dewey” Donald Schmeichel
June 8, 1939-Jan. 1, 2018
Duane Schmeichel, 78,
Minot, died Monday,
January 1, 2018, at Knapp
Medical Center in
Weslaco, TX.
Duane was born June 8,
1939, in Minot, ND, to
Gustave Herman and
Thelma Lola (Hunter)
Schmeichel. He grew up
in Minot and as a young
man assisted his father
with the operation of his
Standard and Mobil ser-
vice stations. He graduat-ed from Minot High
School in 1957.
Duane joined the U.S.
Marine Corps January 16,
1958. He served stateside
and overseas in Okinawa,
Japan. He earned an
honorable discharge Janu-
ary 13, 1961 at the rank of
Corporal E-4.
Duane was joined in
marriage to his high
school sweetheart, Lois
Schmidt, on October 10,
1959. Following his mili-
tary service, he returned
to Minot and gained em-
ployment with
Northwestern Equipment
and later Butler
Machinery, traveling
across the state as a heavy
equipment mechanic. In
1973, Duane and Lois pur-
chased the Avis Rent A
Car franchise in Minot. A
few years later they pur-
chased the Avis franchise
in Grand Forks and then
started an Avis operation
in Williston. They retired
in 1981 with the sale of all
three franchises.
Duane and Lois loved
traveling together, often in
their motorhome. They
were fortunate to visit all
50 states, in addition to
traveling to many foreign
destinations. They spent
winters in South Texas
from 1989 to present.
Dewey’s hobbies in-
cluded restoring old cars.
His pride and joy was the
1939 Packard seven
passenger touring sedan
that he used in both his
daughters’ weddings. He
also enjoyed playing golf
and was a past member of
the Board of Directors for
the Souris Valley Golf
Course Men’s League.
Woodworking and build-
ing furniture kept him
busy in his later years.
Meeting at Minot’s
Hardee’s Restaurant each
morning to discuss the
news of the day with his
coffee buddies was also
something he really en-
joyed.
Duane was a member of
St. Paul’s Lutheran
Church in Minot.
Duane is survived by:
his loving wife of 58
years, Lois Schmeichel,
Minot; daughters, Shelly
(Jon) Sauer of The Wood-
lands, TX and Jodi (Mark)
Anderson of Minot;
grandsons, Andrew
(Marissa) Sauer, Devin
Sauer and Carter Ander-
son; granddaughter, Brit-
tany Anderson; great
granddaughter, Emma
Sauer; sister, Doris (El-
don) Hill of Northfield,
MN; as well as numerous
nieces, nephews and
cousins.
Duane was preceded in
death by: his parents;
granddaughter, Autumn
Anderson; sisters, Joyce
Macy and Phyllis Stahl;
and brother, Robert
Schmeichel.
Funeral Service: 11:00
a.m. Friday, January 12,
2018, at St. Paul’s Luth-
eran Church, Minot.
Interment: Rosehill
Memorial Park, Minot,
ND.
Visitation: Thursday,
January 11, 2018, from
3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.
at the Thomas Family
Funeral Home, Minot.
Memorials are pre-
ferred to St. Paul’s Luth-
eran Church or MD
Anderson Cancer Center.
Those wishing to sign
the online memorial regis-
ter or share memories are
invited to use the expres-
sions of sympathy section
at www.thomasfamily
funeralhome.com.