Jewel M. Menzie Schmidt

On July 22, 2012, we lost a kind and classy lady who loved to write, read, knit, do crossword puzzles and write journals about her family and travel. Her passion for exercise included aerobic dancing, walking, biking, canoeing, and cross-country skiing. She always “went her own way”. Jewel Schmidt died peacefully and was 86 years old.

Born in Newark, she grew up in Maplewood attending Our Lady of Sorrows School and Columbia High School. During WWII, she worked as a secretary at Western Electric in Kearny. After marriage to her love, Gustav Schmidt, to whom she was married for 62 years, they moved to Livingston. While raising her children, Jewel held leadership positions in the local PTA, HSA, Cub Scout, Brownie, and Girl Scout organizations. For 17 summers, she worked with her husband as Assistant Day Camp Director at the Lake Placid Club. During the school year, she was Assistant to the Executive Director of the West Essex YMCA.

When her children were grown, Jewel attended and graduated cum laude in English from Montclair State University. Her second career was launched at Foster Wheeler Corporation where she was hired to write the company newsletter and later became Manager of Relocation. Upon retirement, she served as a consultant writing about the company’s first 100 year history. Travel became a big part of her retired life seeing Europe, China, Canada, Mexico, and touring all 50 capitals of the United States of America.

Jewel always put her family first, and was a wonderful and caring wife and mother. She loved playing with her grandchildren and will be missed by all who knew her. She is survived by her loving husband, Gustav Schmidt, daughter Barbara Schmidt-Kemp, son Ronald Schmidt, son-in-law Christopher Kemp, daughter-in-law Millie St. John-Schmidt, grand-daughters Pamela Kemp, Meghan Kemp, Jessica La Fave, Katherine Schmidt, Amy St. John and great-grandsons Kai St. John and Hudson Hart.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the West Essex YMCA, 321 S. Livingston Avenue, Livingston, NJ 07039.

A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at St. Philomena’s Church, 396 S. Livingston Avenue, Livingston, NJ on Thursday, July 26, 2012 at 10:30 am. The family will receive their friends at Quinn-Hopping Funeral Home, 145 E. Mt. Pleasant Ave. Livingston, NJ on Wednesday July 25, 2012 from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 pm.