Christopher Karl Schmidt, 82, of Waverly, Iowa, passed away on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, at Bartels Lutheran Retirement Community.
Chris was born on June 1, 1943, in Ohio, the son of Karl and Viola (Grambau) Schmidt. He grew up in Waverly and graduated from Wartburg College in 1966.
Chris and Mary Hjermstad were married in 1966, and he began his graduate studies at Iowa State University, earning his doctorate in Physics in 1971. Chris taught Physics at Hope College, the University of Pittsburgh and returned to Waverly to teach at Wartburg College. Chris taught at Wartburg until his retirement in 2004.
Chris is survived by his wife, Mary Schmidt, two sons, Dean (Amy) Schmidt and Aaron (Kristin) Schmidt; five grandchildren, Andy, Alex, Tyler, Ben and Evie; two sisters, Rhoda (David) Braunschweig and Dorothy (Dewey) Lindstrom.
He was preceded in death by his parents, a sister, Ruth Roschke and a brother-in-law, Paul Roschke.
All obituary information has been taken from the funeral home, newspaper or other online resource.
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