May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.

     Connie Schmitt's Eulogy Given by Jean Siebelts
On behalf of my Aunt Jean and the entire Schmitt family I want to thank you all for braving this weather in order to pay tribute to this wonderful man.
I have been asked to give this Eulogy today by the family and quite frankly at first it felt like a daunting task. You see my Uncle Connie was a man of few words. I always felt like I knew him well but to pay tribute to this gentle soul,well lets just say I had to do some research.
If one word could describe this man I think it would be resilient. Which according to Websters dictionary means. Ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.
We all know how he was able to come back from the past few years tragedys,especially the fall which a person 20 years his junior probably could not do.
After learning of the 5 different arena's Uncle Connie served at during the war,Resilient certainly describes him as he was able to come home and readjust to civilian life with out skipping a beat. I never heard him talk about the war but according to his son in law Mitch there where 2 things he would never forget:
1. The sound of bullets hitting soldiers helmets.
2.  The sea of red during the invasion of Normandy.
In my research I asked family members to tell me something special they remembered about Uncle Connie.
His son in law Mitch remembers how gracious he was to him when he asked if he could marry his daughter Karla and of course how thrilled Mitch was when Uncle Connie said yes.
Donna remembers the time they all stayed up and watched a scary movie together.When the kids finally went to bed "they all slept in the same bedroom" Uncle Connie jumped out of the closet and scared them all to death. Of course he thought this was a real hoot. Donna says they had to sleep with a light on after that.
Karla remembers vividly how Uncle Connie taught her to box,so that she would always be able to defend herself.
Kurt tells how Uncle Connie always made sure he was practicing playing his guitar and how he would check the amplifier to see if it was warm just in case Kurt wasn't telling the truth.
Lee and Luke said some of their best memories are of them all going out to breakfast and the many hours they spent afterwards sitting in the car or on a bench in the stores waiting for Aunt Jean to finish shopping.That says a lot about the man they where so willing to just sit with for hours!
My family recounted many memories with this wonderful man.
My sister Bobbie recalls the many trips to the zoo that Uncle Connie took her and Danny to or the many fried bologna sandwiches she watched him eat for lunch everyday as he was able to come home from work and eat lunch.
My brother Jack remembers how kind and unflappable he was when our brother Bussie was being chased by Jack at their home and he inadvertanly ran thru a glass door. Instead of being mad at Jack they just wrapped up Bussie's arm and took him to the hospital. No Big Deal!
I remember how much fun Uncle Connie was when we where all little and how he would wrestle all of us on the floor. He never seemed to mind having all 4 of us kids along with his 4 kids practically every other weekend during the summer. Now that is a resilient man.
I also learned Sunday in my research just how musical Uncle Connie was. How he played the mandeline by ear and how he taught himself to play the guitar when Kurt started playing and how he sang in the church choir as a little boy.
My mom tells of the hours he spent sitting on the porch with Mr. B talking and how they made quite the pair.
I know that my Aunt Jean wll have to dig deep down and try to muster up some of Uncle Connie's resilience because after spending 60 plus years together she has an enormous void to fill.
I am sure when she met Uncle Connie for the first time "on a blind date" sitting under a perm machine with crazy rods coming out of her head. She never imagined he would become her life long soul mate. She must have sensed he was a keeper after seeing her looking so frightening and he still wanted to keep their date.
I was able to hear some pretty amazing stories Sunday night. Like the road rage encounter the kids witnessed where the other driver met with a rather unhappy ending or the time Uncle Connie caught Kurt trying to unsuccessfully sneak into the house late one night via the roof.
I also heard stories that I think I will just keep for myself.  You think you know someone who has been a part of your life only to find out that in their passing there was so much about this person you where never aware of. 
One thing I know for sure and even more so after his passing.Connie Schmitt was a very complex and remarkable man.One might even say resilient!
I am sure Uncle Connie is in heaven as we speak,with Danny and patiently waiting for Aunt Jean to come and finish taking care of him. We will always love and remember you Uncle Connie,so until we meet again Farewell.

Aunt Jean,
I know you will miss Uncle Connie physiclally but he will always be in your heart, as he will be in all of ours.
His memory will live on in all of us that care so deeply for him.  
Love you all
The Barrale's

Dearest Schmitt famiy,

I am so very sorry to hear about your 
loss.
My deepest & most sincere sympathy goes out to each & every one of you.

Cathy Siegel

OBITUARY

Conrad "Connie" Schmitt

September 21, 1922 – December 8, 2010

Alexander-White-Mullen Funeral Home and Mt Lebanon Cemetery

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