It Is with heavy hearts we announce the passing of our much-loved husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend, Leonard Richard Schmidt. He died Sunday evening December 1, 2024, at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center. He was 83 years old.
Leonard (Len) was born in Savanna, Il to parents Richard Schmidt and Geneva (Brandenburg) Schmidt on May 14, 1941, the first of four children. His father was a farmer, so they moved around. Len talked of the one room schools he attended and the distance he would walk to school. He graduated from Andrew High School, then went to Wartburg College, both schools in Iowa and graduated in 1963 with a BA degree in Mathematics and Physics. Len made many lifelong friends at Wartburg and followed the sports teams and supported his alma mater. After college he went into flight training with the United States Navy.
Len was a pilot, an occupation he decided on when he was a five-year-old watching planes fly over his home. He served in the US Navy in stateside bases and in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He received an honorable discharge as a Lieutenant. Len was a career airline pilot, and the family lived in several places on the west coast. In the spring of 2023, they drove across the county to New Hampshire to be near their son Neil and family. He was able to watch his grandchildren participate in their various sports and spend more time with them.
He married Sandra Easton in Waverly, Iowa, and they enjoyed 59 years of loving and caring for one another. He was proceeded in death by his parents, brothers Gregg and Kent. Len is survived by his wife, son Neil. Daughter-in-law Kristen, grandchildren Marguerite and Garrett, his sister Sylvia, sister-in-law Martha Ann (Dennis) and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
All obituary information has been taken from the funeral home, newspaper or other online resource.
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