Jerry Henry Schmitz

In lieu of flowers, family requests that donations be sent to the Milford Care Center in Milford, IA on Jerry's behalf.

Jerry Schmitz, age 77, of Spirit Lake, IA formerly of Wall Lake, IA passed away Saturday, May 24, 2014 at the Milford Care Center in Milford, IA. Funeral services will be 10:30am, Wednesday, May 28, 2014 at the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Wall Lake, IA. Visitation will be from 4:00-8:00pm Tuesday, May 27 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Wall Lake with a vigil service at 7:00pm. Burial will be in the Wall Lake Cemetery, Wall Lake, IA. A memorial mass will be held at 6:00pm, June 14, 2014 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Milford, IA. Jerry Henry Schmitz was born to parents Hugo and Augusta (Block) Schmitz on a farm 5 miles from Earling, IA. He was born on Valentine’s Day in 1937 at home during a blizzard. The doctor never reported his birth, so to this day he does not have a birth certificate. Jerry went to school in Earling for 12 years. He did very well in school and graduated second in his class. He loved playing basketball and helped the team go to the state tournament. Jerry’s dad loved watching the ball games, but expected Jerry to do the chores when he got home from practice.

Jerry loved the farm and loved to help work the land with his brothers and sisters. He was the middle child and kept dreaming of the day he’d grow up and have his own farm. He said, “Someday I want to own a piece of the rock”. He always said there is only so much land and he was going to work hard so he could someday own a piece of it. On February 12, 1958 Jerry married Norma Heese in Earling, IA. Jerry and Norma lived in Omaha, NE, but didn’t want to raise their family in the city and later moved to Wall Lake to work at Boyer Valley Fertilizer Plant where he was the plant manager. Jerry loved anything associated with agriculture. Although he couldn’t make farming his life, he was really excited about his job in fertilizer and working with the farmers. The plant started very small and Jerry worked to help the business expand each year. In 1965, Jerry became part owner of Boyer Valley and later sold the company to ConAgra in 1985. He loved watching the crops grow and he made sure that the land had all of the nutrients it needed to produce top yields. His happiest day was when he had worked his way up and was financially stable so he could buy that “piece of the rock”. Owning a farm was his dream and it had finally come true.

Jerry always set goals and worked hard to accomplish those goals. Jerry’s first priority has always been his family. He was a loving dad and wanted his kids to have the best. The family was brought up with a strong faith in God. They were taught to respect themselves and others. Jerry loved playing ball in the yard with the kids and many neighbor kids. He was the all-time pitcher. As the kids grew he taught them to respect others, to be kind, honest, loyal and trustworthy. He always told the kids, “You can spend a lifetime building a reputation which can be torn down with one bad decision, so always think things out.” Jerry and Norma were both excited when grandkids were born. As they grew, Jerry loved to take them fishing and always had many words of wisdom for them to live by. As they grew older he had them take care of the lawn. He loved watching football with them on T.V. and loved going to their games. Soon the grandchildren were having their own children and Jerry was blessed with six great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, family requests that donations be sent to the Milford Care Center in Milford, IA on Jerry's behalf.