Obituary of Joseph Schmitt

Survivors include his wife, Lucille of Holy Cross, a son Kenny Schmitt of Holy Cross, 4 daughters: Donna (Roger) Sweeney and Lou Ann Schmitt both of Holy Cross, Janet (Dave) Patten of Lisbon, IA and Darlene (Phil) Frasher of Worthington. Also surviving are 11 grandchildren, Christine (Dan) Reiss of Ryan, Steve (Dawn) Sweeney of Robins, Brian (Amy) Sweeney of Merriam, KS, Dawn (Tom) Cummer of Sherrill, Mark Patten of Olathe, KS, Randy (Sarah) Patten of Mt. Vernon, Danny Patten of Lisbon, Renee (Bryan) Casey of Anamosa, Lynn (Matt) Schmitz and Michele (Ben) Jones of Dyersville and Kevin Boge of Cedar Rapids, 4 step-grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren, 5 step-great-grandchildren, 2 sisters: Eileen Schmitt of Epworth and Helen (Howard) Breitbach of Rickardsville; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law: Ray and Irene Schmitt of Dyersville, Peter and Madonna Jaeger of Dubuque and Aureila Jaeger of Balltown. He was preceded in death by his parents, one sister, MaeRita Leibfried and 2 brothers-in-law, Paul Leibfried and Melvin (Jim) Schmitt. The family would like to thank Hospice of Dubuque, Bro. Stephen Markham for his spiritual support and especially Dr. Longo for his care and concern. Joe was born on February 6, 1917 in Bankston, Iowa, the son of Michael and Mayme (Daly) Schmitt. He moved to Holy Cross at 2 weeks of age to the present farm. Joe married Lucille Jaeger on September 9, 1941 at St. Francis church in Balltown, Iowa. Together they farmed their entire life in Holy Cross. Joe was one of the original founders of the Holy Cross Athletic Club, member of the Holy Cross Holy Name Society and the Dubuque County Farm Bureau. He loved his family and the farm life. Joe enjoyed playing cards, going to the dog track and fishing. A Joe Schmitt memorial fund has been established.