Brigitte Schmidt

Brigitte, our Schatzi, Gitta, Mom, Oma, Mamo, was born May 29, 1935, in Affaltrach, Germany, to Karl and Lina Reichert, together with an older sister, Marianne, who preceded her in passing. Brigitte grew up spending a portion of her youth during World War II. This period had a great impact and she often told many fascinating stories through the lens of a child about this tumultuous time. Brigitte attended school in the German school system, worked for her father’s business for a period of time, and in her later teens worked as an Au Pair in Switzerland for 2 years, returning home after the death of her father.

Upon returning home, Brigitte began working at a nearby US Army base, during which time she met a handsome young American soldier named Fred Schmidt. The two hit it off, fell in love, and Fred brought Brigitte back to America, where they married and raised 4 boys. First in Grass Valley, California, and later in Bloomington, California. Brigitte spent most of her time building a home for her family, often “holding down the fort” while Fred, as a fireman, was called away, sometimes for weeks at a time. She worked for a short period selling Avon, worked at a travel agency, and later taught German to Kindergarten-age children at the German-American School Association in Redlands California, which she thoroughly enjoyed.

Brigitte embraced her German culture, sharing it with her family, and, with her husband, Fred, hosted many Oktoberfests in her backyard. Brigitte loved to work and host parties in her yard, loved being outdoors, and instilled a sense of adventure in her children, taking drives to far-flung areas of Southern California, and beyond – sometimes for the day, sometimes on longer camping trips, but always somewhere beautiful and always fun. Those day-long adventure drives perpetuated into her later years, and she very much enjoyed driving “up to the mountains” where she could look down and get a sweeping view of the valleys below, or drives along the ocean to enjoy the view.

On May 22, 2024, after saying goodnight the night before, Brigitte passed peacefully in her sleep. She is survived by her husband Fred, her son Peter and his wife Norma, her son Tom and his wife Kim, her son Andre and his wife Grace, and her son Derek and his wife Stacy, as well as her grandchildren Lina, Mike, Matthew, Alexandria, Nick, Elleora, Alex, Huxley and Jenna, and her great-grandchildren Jonathan, Camryn, Daniel and Elya. Brigitte was and is the foundation of the Schmidt family, a force to be reckoned with, a fierce mother, a loving wife, and a beautiful human being. Now that she has passed beyond this Earth, she will be greatly missed, she will forever be loved, and forever be cherished...Always.