David Schmitz

David Schmitz, 91,

Minot, formerly of Ken-

mare, passed away on

Wednesday, November 7,

2018, at a Minot assisted

living facility.

David was born on Au-

gust 2, 1927 to Herman

and Gertrude (Keller)

Schmitz on the family

farm north of Foxholm.

David attended country

school and due to his four

brothers away in the ser-

vice, Dave dedicated him-

self to working on the

family farm. In 1945, Da-

vid joined the U.S. Army

and he continued to serve

our nation until he was

honorably discharged in

1947.

After leaving the ser-

vice, David returned to

North Dakota. On October

22, 1949, David was unit-

ed in marriage with Mil-

dred (McNeal) Savelkoul

in Kenmare at St. Agnes

Catholic Church. They

made their home in Ken-

mare, and from this union

two more children were

born: Geralyn “Geri” and

Kelvin. In addition, David

cared for Carol, Mary and

Ed, Mildred’s children

from her previous mar-

riage, as if they were his

own.

David worked as a

mechanic for various

companies in the Ken-

mare area. In 1960, David

began leasing and operat-

ing the Westland Service

Station in Kenmare. He

later purchased the sta-

tion in 1974, renaming it

Dave’s Transmission Ser-

vice. Throughout the

course of over 45 years at

their business, David and

Mildred worked together,

with Mildred as the com-

pany bookkeeper. The

couple had a big heart,

and on more than one oc-

casion they took stranded

motorists into their home

where they provided a

home-cooked meal and

shelter while David

repaired their vehicle. Da-

vid and Mildred moved to

Minot in 2015 for health

reasons. During the transi-

tion from Kenmare to

Minot, David made many

friends with his fellow

residents at Cook’s Court

and he always treasured

the weekly visits from Fa-

ther Joseph Chipson. Mil-

dred passed away in Sep-

tember 2018. The family

would like to offer a spe-

cial thanks to the staff of

Minot Health and Rehab

for their loving care and

support during his final

days.

David loved to be at

work. He could fix any-

thing that had a motor

and was always tinkering

with things to see how

they worked and how he

could improve them.

After he retired, he was

employed as a mainte-

nance worker at the Ken-

mare Hospital. David also

enjoyed bird hunting,

especially pheasants. Da-

vid was a member of the

Kenmare Volunteer Fire

Department, St. Agnes

Catholic Church, Holy

Name Society, Knights of

Columbus and other civic

organizations. He was also

a former City Council

member of Kenmare.

David is survived by:

his son, Kelvin (Shirley)

Schmitz, Leander, TX;

daughter, Geralyn “Geri”

(Paul) Jacob; Minot; step-

children: Carol (Richard)

Grandbois, Rimrock, AZ,

Mary Seime, Black Hawk,

CO, and Ed (Sandra)

Savelkoul, Sidney, MT; 13

grandchildren; 28

great-grandchildren; 10

great-great-grandchildren;

sisters: Adeline

Schweitzer and Carol

Feuillerat; and numerous

nieces, nephews and

cousins.

He was preceded in

death by: his parents;

wife Mildred; brothers:

Alvin (Arlene), Leo

(Evelyn), Bill (Betty), and

Bernard (Virginia);

brother-in-law Art Feuil-

lerat; son-in-law, Bernell

Seime; and

great-grandson, Isiac

Savelkoul.

A Mass of Christian

Burial will be held on Fri-

day, November 16, 2018

at 11:00 a.m. at St. Agnes

Catholic Church in Ken-

mare with burial to follow

at St. Agnes Catholic

Cemetery in Kenmare.

Visitation will be one

hour prior to the start of

the service at the church

with a Recitation of the

Holy Rosary service to

start at 10:15 a.m. Those

wishing to sign the online

register and share

memories may access the

online obituaries section

at www.thompson

larson.com.