Charles George Schmidt

Charles "Chuck" Schmidt Charles "Chuck" Schmidt of Victoria, age 84, died on Sunday, December 15th, 2024, at All Saints Nursing Home in Shakopee. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Victoria Catholic Church in Victoria on Friday, January 10th at 11:00 a.m. with reviewal at 10 a.m. that morning, also at St. Victoria. Lunch will be served in Elstan Hall at St. Victoria after the funeral. Inurnment is being planned for this spring at Fort Snelling National Cemetry. Charles George Schmidt Sr. was born at St. Mary's Hospital to Philip and Anna (Miller)Schmidt of Excelsior on April 16th, 1940, the youngest of six siblings. He attended Excelsior Elementary School, Excelsior Junior High School, and graduated from Minnetonka High School in 1959. His favorite class was history. One of Chuck's first jobs was working games of chance at the Excelsior Amusement Park. After the Amusement Park and high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, and he served from 1959 to 1963. He was stationed at the submarine base in New London, Connecticut, where he attended the Electric and Electronic Prep School. He sailed to Bermuda, the Virgin Islands, St. Thomas, and other parts of the Caribbean. He extended for an additional six months to sail the Mediterranean including visits to Portugal, Italy, Turkey, and Sicily, as well as Belfast, Halifax, and Nova Scotia. Chuck controlled the speed and direction of the submarines as well as the charging and discharging of batteries. When Chuck returned from the Navy, he first lived at home in Excelsior and worked as a carpenter, having learned the trade firsthand from his father. In 1965 he met Carol Benschoter of Northfield, who was working as an LPN at Glenwood Hills Hospital. They were married on September 23rd, 1967, at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Excelsior. They moved into their new and longtime home on Rolling Acres Road in Victoria (Excelsior mailing address) in late 1970. Chuck built that home except for the blockwork, plumbing, and heating. Together Chuck and Carol had five children. A lifelong carpenter, Chuck also retired from the Naval Reserves in 1989, after more than 30 years of service. Chuck was an avid fisherman and especially enjoyed fishing in Canada on Pickle Lake where he and his buddies would arrive via float plane. Chuck was an avid garage saler, he accumulated various collections, most related to the Civil War. He and Carol travelled to battlefields out east to see firsthand where the blood and bullets fell. Chuck was very active in scouting and served as Cubmaster and Scoutmaster when his sons were growing up. A longtime member of the St. Victoria Catholic Church, Chuck was a decades-long member of the St. Victoria Adult Choir. He brought Holy Communion to the homebound, and was an original member of the Fourth Airborne, a men's focus group at St. Victoria. Chuck has also enjoyed reading, vacation time on the Alabama Gulf, and telling jokes. Chuck is survived by his wife Carol and their five children. Chuck Jr. of Otsego, Greg (Maria) of Alaska, Ann of Victoria, Marty (Kendra) of Coon Rapids, and Christine of Victoria; grandchildren Bryce (Rose), Cameron, Jaren Schmidt, Isaac and Arianna Schmidt; brother-in-law and sister-in-law John and Bonita Benschoter of St. Cloud; sister Carol Jones of Bloomington. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers Philip and Richard "Dick" Schmidt; sisters Mary Ann "Pat" Stanley and Elizabeth "Betty" Dubuque.

Tributes

Charles George Schmidt

April 16, 1940 - December 15, 2024

Tributes

Charles George Schmidt

April 16, 1940 - December 15, 2024

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