Harold "Hal" W. Schmidt

Harold William Schmidt

Harold, known as Hal, was born March 16, 1930, to Kurt and Elsie (nee Krause) Schmidt. He was born at home in Grafton, Wisconsin and was the fourth of what would be six children. He described a 50+ acre farm life of cows, chickens, an outhouse, at-home births, hard work, and cooperation among the fellow and neighboring farms for labor.

After graduating from Grafton High School, Hal sought out Engineering classes and chose a 2-year degree at Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) in Radio and Television Technology. After graduating, he took a job in Richland, Washington, working on the Federal Nuclear Project called HAPO (Hanford Atomic Product Operation). Not only did this spark a lifelong interest in nuclear energy, but he learned to downhill ski during this time, and it became the sport that cornered his passion for the rest of his life. He joined several ski clubs and forced himself to get off at the highest point of the lift until he mastered the slopes.

In 1953 Hal joined the Army, primarily to earn money to pursue more schooling. Eight weeks of basic training earned him a score of 218, putting him in the “expert” category. He considered Military Police and Officer training (OCS), but ended up in a post-war occupation troop, first assigned to a repair facility, later as a member of the European Ski Patrol in Berchtesgaden, Germany.

Returning to the States by boat with his beloved ’55 Austin Healey 100-4 he purchased in Germany, Hal applied for further education at MSOE and completed a BSEE, Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering. While finishing school he met his match: Karen (Wolf). They married in October of 1959. During their first years of marriage, they followed his work to Syracuse, NY and Cheyenne, Wyoming, ultimately returning to Milwaukee, WI. Hal worked for GE on missile programs. He also designed equipment to transmit high resolution TV images via beams of light, technology that was sold to ABC Television to broadcast the 1963 presidential conference. Hal worked on UMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) theory and worked on Litton’s Skyphone, the first cellphone, having the task of approving its function for military use through atmospheric chamber testing.

Throughout his life Hal continued to ski and took up golf. He was an avid gardener, growing fruit and vegetables when younger and, after retirement, he planted more than 10,000 trees, plants, shrubs on his property. His interests were diverse, and he took stained glass-working classes and was an avid studier and investor in the stock market. He cooked, did home and car repairs, even took to the sewing machine to do his own mending. Despite frequently forgetting his children at gymnastics or other after-school activities, he was a great, fun, engaged father, attending various sport and music events, rescuing adult children with broken down vehicle hundreds of miles from home and helping with income taxes year after year. Basically, he was always a Dad.

Hal died after a brief hospice stay on May 25, 2024, and is preceded in death by four of his siblings, Raymond, Marvin, Kurt and Doris, survived by his older brother, Erwin, 97. His beloved and most amazing wife, Karen, died just three months before him in February of 2024. Hal is survived by his three children: Steven (Tracy) Schmidt, Gregory (Katherine) Schmidt, Kristin Schmidt. Further survived by four grandsons: Alec Schmidt, Brandon Schmidt, Liam Schmidt and Ronan Schmidt.

A Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, June 8, 2024, 1:00 PM at St. Paul Lutheran Church, in Grafton. Interment will take place at St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery. The family will receive friends and relatives on Saturday, at the church, from 11:00 AM until the time of service. In lieu of flowers, memorials to St. Paul Lutheran Church are appreciated.