Community members remember former mayor

Russ Schmidt served as Shawano mayor for six years
By: 
Luke Reimer
Reporter

Former Shawano Mayor Russ Schmidt has passed away at the age of 92.

He passed away on July 21.

He played a large part in the Shawano community as he was on the Shawano Medical Board of Trustees, the Shawano Area Community Foundation Board of Directors, the Valley Bank Board, the M&I Bank Board, the BMO Bank Board and the Shawano County Board. He was also a part of the Shawano Rotary Club. He was an alderman on the Shawano City Council for 20 years and he served as the mayor of Shawano for six years.

One family friend of his said that she always looked forward to going to his cheese shop, The Cheddar Box Cheese House.

“I was friends with his daughter,” said Kathy Braun. “I was always excited to see him when we went in.”

Braun also mentioned that Schmidt was a very nice guy and would often smile when meeting new people.

“He was always very friendly,” said Braun. “He had a great sense of humor and was someone who would be happy to talk to you.”

Schmidt and his family were also a part of the St. James Lutheran Church.

At the church, Schmidt took part in bible classes that were offered by the principal of the St. James school, Will Kleinschmidt.

“I saw Russ a lot,” said Kleinschmidt. “I was the principal of his children and was teaching bible classes that he attended.”

He added that Schmidt would always be willing to learn more and speak up in discussions.

“Russ always sat next to me during the discussions,” said Kleinschmidt. “He liked to be involved in the discussions, but he never tried to dominate the discussion.”

Kleinschmidt went on to say that Schmidt was a positive part of the community as he tried to help others out before himself.

“He was always a good community member,” said Kleinschmidt. “He always looked out for the community. We need more people like him in the community.”

With the ammount of community involvment that Schmidt had, he met Shawano residents through different events. J.R. Habeck, a retired Shawano-Menominee County Circuit Court judge and Rotary Club member, said that his experiences with Schmidt came from events and duties around the community.

“I knew him from church, his elected duties within the city and our common attendance at Chamber of Commerce events,” said Habeck. “He was consistently in good spirits and looked for ways to improve the community.”


lreimer@newmedia-wi.com