What an interesting woman. What an interesting life. Ingrid Katherine Anderson Schmidt passed away peacefully at the Taylor House Hospice in Des Moines, IA, on Friday, April 13, 2012. Her family had been gathering in Des Moines as she fought a brief illness. It was to be her last fight.
Ingrid was born January 27, 1924 an only child to Swedish immigrants, John Oscar Anderson and Edith Katarina Ollson at Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago, IL. They had many relatives visit and Ingrid spoke Swedish as a young child. At the age of four her mother was hospitalized and Ingrid was sent to stay with family friends for a few years in the small town of Howe, Indiana. After a brief return to Chicago Ingrid returned to the wholesome small town life in Howe. Every winter they would spend in St. Petersburg Florida where Ingrid attended an open-air elementary school. She graduated from Lima High School in Howe and then Western Michigan College where she earned a degree in Occupational Therapy. Ingrid married John Hawks Schmidt in 1948 and they moved to Des Moines to start their careers and family. She took a few years off while her four boys were young and then she restarted her career helping to establish an Occupational Therapy Program at the Des Moines Veterans Hospital.
Ingrid loved all people and their cultures. She hosted many foreign students while her own children were young and her family learned early the wonderful diversity that the world had to offer. Her husband planned annual family vacations to see firsthand their own country and as the children left home she and John started traveling to discover the world. Her early interest in hosting foreign students led naturally to her involvement with the annual International Food Fair, the Iowa United Nations Association, the Woman's International League for Peace and Freedom and the Des Moines Friendship Force. At home her involvement with the community revolved around Central Presbyterian Church and her membership in the Des Moines Woman's Club. She was also active in the PEO, Questers, the Herb Society and many other local clubs and organizations. Her children and grandchildren were exposed to all of this through stories and slide shows.
Ingrid was widowed in 2001 and is survived by her four children. J. Mark Schmidt and his wife Barb live in Des Moines and their two children Karl (McLean, VA) and Erika and her husband Gavin Schermer (Davenport, IA) with her first great-grandson, Alden. Peter Schmidt of Des Moines. Robert Schmidt and his wife Rita live in Iowa City and their two children Matthew (Eugene, OR) and Jessica (Hamden, CT) married to Mischa Wagner and her second great-grandson, Liam. Paul Schmidt and his wife Peggy live in Milwaukee, WI and their two children Drew (Bordeaux, France) and Katherine (Philadelphia, PA).
As her granddaughter Erika said in a school essay "Ingrid has contributed much to our society. She hopes for less or no war and more peace. Hopefully her dream will come true."
Visitation will be held Thursday, April 26 from 5:30 to 7:30 and a Memorial Service at 2 p.m. Friday, April 27 both at Central Presbyterian Church 3829 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA.
Memorial contributions can be made to the Des Moines Womens Club or Central Presbyterian Church Missions.
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