Katherine T. Schmitt

Faith, fidelity, family, fun, and food are words that Katherine T. Schmitt (nee Volz) lived by, up until the moment she died peacefully and prayerfully surrounded by her children on May 27, 2021, just short of her 82nd birthday. Born May 31, 1939, to the late Helen (nee Hertel) and Alphonse Volz, and sister to the late Richard (Mary) Volz, Mary Ann (Wallace) Wessa, and Thomas (Barbara) Volz, in a close-knit Milwaukee German neighborhood where she played with Catholic and Jewish kids alike, she learned early on to love and accept people of all backgrounds, even in the midst of World War II. With the excellent role models of her parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, and her teachers and classmates at St. Catherine Catholic School on Center St., Divine Savior High School and Mount Mary College in Milwaukee, she learned the virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance, faith, hope, and charity. She made sure to have a lot of fun, too, as a child and teenager, with countless hours of learning to play piano, playing with friends and cousins, joining Girl Scouts, playing volleyball and basketball, and spending summers at her family’s lake home on Silver Lake in West Bend. Before long, she was the babysitter and fun aunt to her 22 nieces and nephews who fondly refer to her as Aunt KK. Her dream was to be a wife and mother someday, too. On October 8, 1960, John C. Schmitt, Jr. was the lucky man with whom she exchanged vows to “love, honor, and cherish ’til death do us part.” With lots of hugs, kisses, and terms of endearment, like Poochie, Kate and John loved each other unconditionally for 41 years until John’s death in 2002. Then Kate carried John in her heart waiting for the day they would reunite in heaven. They showed their children, Rita (Dennis) Pampel, Donna (Gregory) Doro, Carolyn (Kenneth) Zacharias, Janet Schmitt, and John (Stephanie) Schmitt what fidelity and forgiveness are all about. Kate and John were a true partnership, sharing parenting and household duties, working through challenges with the kids as a team, and creating so many happy memories for their children through gardening, crafts, games, outdoor play, reading, travel, and lots of fun on Golden Lake in Oconomowoc with her in-laws the late Edna (nee Dietz) and John C. Schmitt, Sr., and sisters-in-law Margaret (Gerald) Bamberg and Barbara Ann (Kenneth) Schoenike, and brother-in-law Robert (late Jane) Schmitt and their children. Kate and John always had time for friends and family with lots of long talks, fun and goofy parties, camping trips, and picnics filled with delicious homemade food. Kate and John supported and helped each other achieve their dreams and aspirations in their careers, volunteer work, home life, and travels throughout the USA and Canada. With one daughter off to college, three teenagers at home, and a toddler in tow, John provided moral support to Kate while she completed her bachelor's degree at Cardinal Stritch with a major in Religious Studies and a certificate in Youth Ministry. One of the three original Youth Ministers in the Milwaukee Archdiocese, Kate built a thriving high school youth ministry program at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Grafton, based on advocacy, catechesis, and community life, including retreats, trips to theme parks, and canoe excursions. She collaborated with youth ministry leaders at other churches in Grafton and neighboring towns and the administration of Grafton High School, engaging the youth in service and leadership opportunities, and providing pastoral care for those who came to her with their personal trials. Once retired from youth ministry in the early 1990’s Kate and John continued to minister to families by inviting couples into their home for baptismal preparation classes and leading a Family Intergenerational Religious Education group. Kate also immersed herself in providing lots of love and fun to her grandchildren Stephanie, Kimberly, Daniel, and Nicole Pampel; Ryan and Jessica Doro; Dr. Anthony (Kayla), Dr. Joseph (Caroline), Matthew (Dr. Alexa), Dr. Nicholas (Angela), Jonathan, and Jaqueline Zacharias; and Madeline and Alexander Schmitt. She was not just a grandma but a teacher to them all by sharing her love of crafts, reading, and cooking, taking the families on numerous trips to fun and educational destinations in Wisconsin and neighboring states, making lifelong memories for her children and grandchildren at their cabin on Road Lake in Tomahawk, Wisconsin, and providing moral and financial support for her grandchildren’s pursuit of higher education. Kate took full advantage of her free time by taking trips all over the United States, to Europe, and to Los Toros in the Dominican Republic with friends, family and sometimes even alone. She stayed active in various committees at St. Joseph Parish, continued to volunteer as a catechist, tutored inner city students at All Saints Parish in Milwaukee, and started a Prayer Shawl Ministry. As time went on, she gracefully retired from these ministries due to challenges as Alzheimer’s started to set in. Her compassionate heart continued to be felt through simpler volunteer activities, such as accompanying participants at Portal, inc. on recreational outings, making fleece tie blankets for the poor, and sharing her wisdom in conversations with everyone she encountered, including her caregivers from Home Helpers and at Lincoln Village in Port Washington. She continued to profoundly impact the lives of others until the moment of her death and now on into eternity. Her final words to all of you, her loved ones, found in her funeral plans: “Remember, I always liked to listen and have a good laugh and hug. Now I am joining the love of my life, John, and we’ll be at the pearly gates to welcome you when it is your turn. And also, now that I am in heaven you can call on me 24 hours and I can intercede for you.” Mass of Christian Burial, Thursday, June 3, 2021 at 7:00 PM at St. Joseph Catholic Church (1619 Washington St.), Grafton. Interment church cemetery. In state Thursday at the church, 4:00 PM until 6:45 PM. If unable to attend the funeral in person, you can join the family virtually as the Mass will be live-streamed and recorded on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_w5In41stp6LHDtlBSTF_w In lieu of flowers, memorials to the following are appreciated: Los Toros Foundation http://lostorosfoundation.org/donate/ St. Norbert College https://giving.snc.edu/givingpages/index.html USA Midwest Jesuits https://www.jesuitsmidwest.org/support-us/donate-now/ Christian Appalachian Project https://christianapp.org/ways-give St. Joseph Parish of Grafton--Youth Ministry https://stjosephgrafton.org/contact/ Portal, inc. http://www.portalinc.org/contact-us.html