James "Jim" E. Schmidt

James (Jim) Edward Schmidt, 90, of Lake-in-the-Hills, IL, passed away on May 23, 2026 at Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington, Illinois with his beloved wife Frances (Fran) by his side.

Jim was born on July 26, 1935, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Walter August and Anne Marie Schmidt. He grew up in Mound, Minnesota, where he developed a lifelong love of music, skiing, sports cars, and the outdoors. He attended the University of Minnesota and became an ordained minister on May 27, 1959 in Navarre, MN.

Jim and Fran (nee Besse) met in Minneapolis and were married June 21, 1965. They shared 61 years of marriage, building a beautiful life together centered around their 5 daughters and their families in Illinois. Jim was a skilled welder and dryer balancer for Matthews Company in Crystal Lake and retired in 2005.

In addition to his family, in his younger days Jim loved hunting, skiing and fast cars. He loved to be outside tending to his roses and birdwatching, especially in his retirement. Jim had a lifelong love of music of all kinds: folk, bluegrass, jazz, but especially classical music and opera.

Jim is survived by his wife Frances Marie, his daughters Georgina (Kevin) Gomes, Heidi (Kuan) Teoh, Carol (Jeff) Linkenheld, Heather (Kevin) Salzburg, Angela (Kyle) Nahornoff, grandchildren Zachary (Kristin) Gomes, Jacob (Kelsie) Gomes, Luke Gomes, Sam Gomes, Garrett Teoh, James Linkenheld, Anne (Nick) Schmitz, Thomas Linkenheld, Matthew (Rachel) Salzburg, Nathan (Janessa) Salzburg, Adara Nahornoff, Kyra Nahornoff, and great grandchildren Sage Gomes, Patrick Schmitz, Declan Schmitz, Olivia Salzburg, Phoebe Salzburg, Michael Salzburg, and Allison Salzburg. He was preceded in death by his parents Walter and Anne and siblings Eugene, Carol, and Beverly.

A celebration of life will be held on June 6, 2026 from 11am to the 1pm memorial service at Querhammer & Flagg Funeral Home located at 500 W Terra Cotta Ave, Crystal Lake, IL 60014.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial donations be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital.