David H. Schmillen Sr.

David was born on September 2, 1940 in St. James, MN and is survived by his loving wife, Brenda (Johnson) Schmillen, and their children, David Jr. and Wendy (Heersink). He is also survived by his sister, Pam (Dietz), and his five grandchildren, Trevor, Kate, Ricky, Ben and Bodie, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Preceded in death by his parents, Harry and Esther Schmillen.

Dave grew up in St. James, MN and graduated from Mankato State University in 1962. Dave and Brenda married on October 6, 1962. Dave’s career took their family to many different places - including Waseca, MN, Coral Springs, FL, and Longmont, CO. In their later years they enjoyed living on St. James Lake and then moved to Windsor, CO to be near David Jr’s family.

Dave had a long career in the manufacturing world and ended that career as the VP of Manufacturing at Codar Technology. He also had secondary careers as a Mortgage Broker and he followed in his son’s footsteps in becoming an EMT.

Dave loved the outdoors and was very proud of being an Eagle Scout. He spent a lot of time hunting, fishing, and playing golf. He loved to go to Northern Minnesota and Rocky Mountain National Park. He also loved teaching his city slicker grandkids how to ice fish, shoot guns, and play poker.

David loved gathering people together. He earned the nickname "Clark Griswold" because of his desire to make everything perfect for the holidays, whether it ended up that way or not.

Whatever Dave did…he went all in! Whether it be volunteer opportunities in the community, at church, or at his grandkids' school. Who could forget his role as “Grandpa Guard” at his grandkids' school - the old guy in the funny hat working security on the 3 wheel bicycle.

David’s favorite toast…words to live by: “If you ever get to it to do it, you better do it. Because if you don’t get to it to do it, you won’t get to it again!”