Marilyn Anne (Traub) Schmidt of Peoria, Illinois, passed from this life into her eternal home on August 23, at Apostolic Christian Restmor in Morton, Illinois. Her home was in Peoria, Illinois where she loved her family, church family, friends, and neighbors well.
The visitation will be held at Davison-Fulton-Woolsey-Wilton Funeral Home on Sunday, August 30 from 2-4pm, and the funeral service will be at Grace Presbyterian Church on Monday, August 31 at 11am; a short visitation precedes at 10am.
Burial will be in Parkview Cemetery in Peoria.
Marilyn is preceded in death by her parents, Henry Traub and Anna Rebholz Traub and her husband, George Edward Schmidt.
Marilyn is survived by her sisters, Carolyn (Robert) Rhinehart and Janet Ratcliffe; her three children and their spouses, Daniel (Judy) Schmidt, Anne (David) Barker, and Stephen (Robin) Schmidt; and her five grandchildren, Olivia, Maxwell, Joel, Ella, and Makayla Schmidt; and two chosen grandchildren, Zachary (Hannah) and Bethany, and their beloved parents, Paul and Sheryl Zwart.
Marilyn went to Woodruff High School and later Bradley University majoring in Home Economics, where she was a member of the Delta Zeta sorority.
She was a hairdresser, a seamstress, and loved to do all things crafty. She loved to do hair, and she had some clients for over 30 years. She spent countless hours making clothes for herself and her family. She sewed dresses, quilts and taught many children to sew as well.
In her 20s she put her faith in Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior, a great turning point in her life. She was a talented woman and sought to serve the Lord and love Him well by sharing with others.
For a long time she served as a teacher in VBS. She made handmade soap as gifts to help people remember to pray. She volunteered at the Southside Mission where she taught girls to sew and was able to share her love for Jesus in ways they could understand and remember. She enjoyed making cards and giving them to people who needed encouragement. No matter who she met, her greatest desire was to make sure they knew Jesus loved them and had a plan for their lives. Jesus was her best friend, and it showed in every conversation.
She was a longtime member of Grace Presbyterian Church, and her Sunday school class nicknamed her the Sunshine Girl because of her gift of encouragement – which continued to her last days.
The beautiful reality about a life lived loving Jesus is that death is not the end. Though we must say goodbye to Marilyn (Mom, Grandma, Nana), this good-bye is not the end.
She loved many verses and shared them with others, including Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
Memorials in Marilyn’s honor can be made to Grace Presbyterian Church, and Breakthrough T1D (for juvenile diabetes research).
