SCHMITZ, Richard P. (Reverend)

The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Wednesday, November 03, 2010 Richard P. Schmitz, 92, of Prescott, Ariz., born Sept. 29, 1918, in Manitowac, Wis., passed away Oct. 29, 2010. Memorial services will be 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 8, 2010, at First Congregational Church, Untied Church of Christ, 216 Gurley St., Prescott. Heritage Memorial Mortuary is handling the arrangements. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Saturday, November 06, 2010 Reverend Richard P. Schmitz, born Sept. 29, 1918, to Clara and Judge Edward Schmitz in Manitowoc, Wis., passed away Oct. 29, 2010, at the Marley Hospice House in Prescott, Ariz. A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 8, 2010, at the First Congregational Church, 216 E. Gurley St., Prescott, Ariz. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Community Cupboard of Prescott. A second memorial service will be held in spring 2011 at St. John's United Church of Christ in Manitowoc. Richard, the youngest of a family of 11 children, was raised in Manitowoc. He graduated from Lincoln High School in 1936, where he was class president for three years and was active in the band, playing clarinet. He attended the University of Wisconsin - Madison, majoring in math and history as an undergraduate. He then finished his graduate work at the University of Wisconsin with degrees in law, theology and philosophy. Between his undergraduate and graduate studies, he attended the Mission House Seminary in Sheboygan, Wis. (now Lakeland College), where he finished his studies to become an ordained minister of the Evangelical and Reformed Church. After college, he served with the United States Navy as a Chaplain during World War II, serving at St. Albans Hospital in New York, on a destroyer transport to England, and then with a troop ship to Japan and to Bikini. After the war, he returned to Manitowoc, where he served as the associate minister for the First Reformed Church in Manitowoc, and, after being admitted to the Wisconsin Bar, also worked as a lawyer in Manitowoc for 32 years before retiring to Prescott, Ariz. While working as a Chaplain at St. Albans Hospital, he met his future wife, Shirley Zimmer. They married on May 27, 1947, and had 57 happy years of marriage before she died in April of 2004. Richard's survivors include his daughter Janet Emerman and son-in-law Richard Emerman of Anchorage, Alaska; his daughter-in-law Sue Schmitz of Manitowoc, Wis.; grandchildren Molly Emerman, Kate Emerman Bass, Shawn Schmitz, Shane Schmitz, Jeffrey Schmitz and Stephanie Schmitz; great-grandchildren Chyna Schmitz, Cara Janikowski, Jackson Schmitz, Madeline Jacobson and Kendall Schmitz; and many nieces and nephews. He is also survived by two "adopted" daughters in Prescott, Clara Ewert and Susie Griggs; and numerous friends around the country. Richard was preceded in death by his parents, his beloved wife Shirley Schmitz, his son Paul Schmitz, and all 10 of his brothers and sisters. The family wishes to thank sincerely Richard's many friends at the First Congregational Church and at Las Fuentes Retirement Community, Richard and Shirley's family doctor John Sandeen and his wonderful staff, the many other doctors and staff of Prescott who attended him throughout the years, the medical staff at Yavapai Regional Medical Center and the Good Samaritan Society's Marley Hospice House. Memorial service will be 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 8, 2010 at First Congregational/United Church of Christ in Prescott. Arrangements were made by Heritage Memory Mortuary in Prescott, Ariz. Please share a memory with the family at www.heritagefuneralchapels.com. Information provided by survivors.