Peter "Pete" Schmidt

Peter Schmidt

June 18, 1937 – February 3, 2025

Pete Schmidt died on February 3, 2025, at his home in Mountlake Terrace, Washington, surrounded by his family.

Pete was one of 8 children born to Michael and Genevieve Schmidt, the second youngest of six boys and two girls. He was born in Logan County, North Dakota on the family farm. Pete’s dad was a strict German, Catholic immigrant who believed in hard work and expected it from his kids, but Pete and his brothers would find time to play catch and baseball became a passion for them.

Pete joined the Army in 1957 and served for 2 years, returning to Braddock in 1959. It wasn’t long after that, when he met a young woman, Marie Kraft at a wedding reception. Little did he know that she was determined to make him her husband and on April 8, 1961, at St. Philomena’s Church in Selfridge, North Dakota, they were married and spent nearly 64 years together.

Pete and Marie moved to Bismarck where they started a family, but Pete still played baseball with his brother Andy for his hometown of Braddock. He worked for Cloverdale Meats in Mandan until 1966, when they decided to move to Seattle, Washington to raise their family.

Pete continued his career in the sausage making business, working at Milwaukee Sausage until they closed their plant in Seattle. From there, he went on to drive a truck for Perry Brothers/Kraft/Alliance, retiring in 1999. To keep busy after retiring from truck driving, Pete picked up some part-time work at Dick’s Drive-In for almost 15 more years, before finally retiring for good.

Pete and Marie moved from Ballard to Lynnwood in 2002 to settle down and enjoy life. They have both always loved dancing. Another favorite of theirs was to play cards, which they did once a week with their Pinochle club. Being involved in their church has always been especially important to them, and they served as Eucharistic ministers for 30 years. Pete has been a long-time member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles for over 60 years.

However, Pete’s real passion was sports…..watching the Seattle Mariners when he wasn’t playing them himself. He played fast pitch and slow pitch softball well into his 70’s. Part of the enjoyment for him was being able to play on the same team with his kids, as Paul played fast pitch and Genevieve played slow pitch with him. Pete also bowled until he was 85. He participated in over 30 consecutive National Bowling Tournaments, but his finest personal feat was his Perfect 300 game at Sunset Bowl in 2007 at 69 years old.

Pete was a kind and loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather and he touched the lives of so many people. There are dozens of friends and acquaintances that refer to him as “Uncle Pete” just because they loved him as soon as they got to know him. He will be missed by all who knew him.

Survivors include: his beloved wife Marie; 3 children Paul (Mysty), Genevieve, Marie Jones; 3 grandchildren, Arleea Marlatt, Peyton (Jordan) Wilson, Makensie Jones; 3 great-grandchildren, Brooklyn Loveland, Asher Loveland, Camille Wilson; 1 sibling, Theresia Neigum and numerous nieces and nephews and in-laws.

Preceded in death by his parents: Michael and Genevieve Schmidt and stepmother Catherine (Bohl), siblings Tony, Steve, Johnny, Lorraine, Andy, and Eugene.

Announcements:

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, February 27th at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Mountlake Terrace, WA. at 11:00am, with a Viewing at 10:00am and at Rosary at 10:30am preceding the services. The family invites you to stay and celebrate Pete’s life at a reception at the church following the mass, before continuing to Purdy & Walters at Floral Hills in Lynnwood, WA.

In Lieu of flowers (mom is allergic to them) kindly donate to the American Kidney Fund in Pete’s memory.

Contact Paul Schmidt at [email protected] for further information.