Larry D. Schmidt,82 and longtime Minot resident, died on December 28, 2023 at his home after a short battle with cancer.
Larry D. Schmidt was born on June 20, 1941 at home in rural Sheldon, N.D. to Merl and Inez (Buss) Schmidt. He was raised on a farm near Enderlin, N.D. and graduated from Enderlin High School in 1959 where he played football. He joined the U.S. Air Force after high school and served in Morocco in North Africa, Alaska, and Minot. He served as a Military Policeman and was proud to say he was the second “cop” to arrive at the MAFB when the base opened. He also served as an honor guard for many occasions and insisted his uniform be starched to the point it could stand in a corner and his boots were polished to a sheen. He was very proud of his country and flew the American Flag at his home every day for years.
Larry married Carol J. Hanson on April 4, 1964 and they had almost 60 years together. He attended Minot Business College in Minot and earned his Accounting Degree. He started his business career at Tempo as Credit Manager and then moved on to manage Monarch Concrete for 20 years. He managed Sunset Memorial Gardens and worked at Porter Brothers in Minot and ended his career as “Larry, the Cable Guy” as the advertising manager for Midco Communications in Minot. While at Midco, he and Randy Schwan of Trinity Hospital worked to start the “Women Building Hope Golf Tournament” dedicated to fighting Breast Cancer. The tournament is still played today and was the start of several other tournaments, for both men and women, to fight cancer.
Larry and Carol traveled to many states and particularly enjoyed Hawaii and Alaska as well as Canada, the Bahamas, and Mexico. Camping was also great fun for the family as the children grew up and continued for years after retirement. Larry loved the game of golf and played often (and somewhat badly) until physical limitations made him give up the game.
Larry’s greatest joy was when he became a Dad to his three children: James Dean, Scott Alan, and Nancy Jean. Then, an even greater joy happened when the grandchildren came along: Darby, Zachary, Taylor, and Maxwell. He took pride in the accomplishments of his children and grandchildren.
Larry was a member of the Elks, Eagles, Rotary, and Moose. He was a member of the Christ Lutheran Church of Minot and served as President of the congregation and on the Foundation Board.
Larry was preceded in death by his parents: Merl and Inez Schmidt and several aunts, uncles and cousins as well as in-laws Floyd and Pearl Hanson.
He is survived by his wife: Carol; children: James (Velvet) of Bismarck; Scott (Crystal) of Minot; and Nancy Froslie of Sioux Falls, SD; grandchildren: Dr. Darby Schmidt (Dr. Kirill Lipatov) of Duluth, MN; Zachary Schmidt of Fargo; Taylor Froslie of Jamestown and Maxwell Froslie of Bismarck; sister: Norma (Gary) Anderson of Sheldon, ND; brother: David Schmidt of Fargo; brothers-in-law: Richard Hanson of Dubuque, Iowa and Randy Hanson of Minot; sister-in-law: Susan Hotchkin of Dubuque, Iowa, and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Celebration of the Life of Larry Schmidt: Saturday, January 6, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. in Christ Lutheran Church, Minot. To view a livestream of the service or share memories and condolences access his obituary at www.thomasfamilyfuneralhome.com
Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens, Minot
Visitation: Friday, January 5, 2024, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in Thomas Family Funeral Home, Minot.
Memorials are preferred to Christ Lutheran Church, Caring Edge Hospice or to an organization of donor’s choice.
To plant Memorial Trees in memory of Larry D. Schmidt, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.
