Anton Paul (Tony) Schmidt

Anton Paul (Tony) Schmidt, born July 9, 1932 in the Macklin district, passed away on Friday, September 13, 2019 in North Battleford, SK. Tony is survived by his wife of 62 ½ years Sally (Davies), his sons Leonard and Leon (Carey), his daughter Lea and granddaughters Kaley & Jesse, and grandson Jared.  Also left to remember Tony are his siblings Gus (Helga) Schmidt, Mary (Horace) Mazurek, Betty Robertson, Paul (Millie) Schmidt, Minard Schmidt, John (Barbara) Schmidt, sisters-in-law Shirley Schmidt, Sandy Schmidt & Susan Schmidt as well as in-laws Peggy Donison, Stan (Helen) Davies, Dorothy Davies, Bev Bailey, Sharon (Edward) Heilman, and numerous nieces and nephews.  Tony is predeceased by his daughter Leona Schmidt, parents Simon & Veronica (Wack) Schmidt, siblings Margaret, Valentine, Ann (Nix) Ste Marie, George, Joe, Rose (Clem) Moser and Ralph, and brother-in-law Tom Robertson, as well as in-laws Roy Donison, Dave Davies, Bud Bailey, Patty Davies and nephews Gary Ste Marie & Marvin Robertson.Tony was the fourth child in a family of fourteen; in 1935 his family moved north, finally settling in the Fairholme area just south of Turtle Lake. When his Dad went partially blind Tony had to learn to drive. He was fourteen years old, and so short he couldn’t reach the clutch on the 1941 Chev one ton truck, so he shifted gears by revving up the motor. When he took his driver’s test, the officer asked him to teach him how to do that! Tony worked on threshing crews around the district, cut cord wood with his sister in the winter, helped milk the cows so they could ship cream, and cut blocks of ice on Turtle Lake to keep the ice house cold in summer. In 1951, he left home to work in the Cloan district, for Walter Gendall, who farmed the land that the “Big Rock” was on. Tony would sit on the rock to eat his lunch. He met his future bride Sally while working there, and January 31, 1957 they were married in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta. Their honeymoon was a one night stay in a sleazy hotel room, as the “elite” hotel wouldn’t sell them a celebration drink, as Sally was too young. Tony worked in lumber camps for that first winter and they returned to Saskatchewan in the spring, where he got a job as “second man” at the Pool elevator in Rockhaven under Joe Rymal. They welcomed their first son, Leonard, during this time. When that job was terminated, they moved to Cut Knife where he worked at Wetlaufer’s Garage as a mechanic. Then their first daughter, Leona, came along. Tony then started tech school in Saskatoon & Moose Jaw, obtaining his journeyman’s mechanics license in 1963. After moving to North Battleford he drove truck for Lister’s Transport before joining the staff at Victory Motors. Their second son, Leon, was born in 1964. In 1967 he bought into Risling’s Royalite service station, operating for three years. During this time Tony & Sally bought a cabin & boat at Cochin Beach, enjoying fishing, water skiing, etc. In 1970 Royalite Oil sold out to Gulf Oil and changed operators at the Royalite, so Tony moved across the highway and rented the Shell station, operating as “Tony’s Shell Service” for four years. During the years at both service stations, Sally worked alongside Tony. When Shell Oil sold the service station, Tony bought Sally’s Mom & Dad’s family farm in the Rockhaven area, where they’ve farmed for 46 years. In 1979 Tony & Sally went on their honeymoon to B.C. and along the way became pregnant with their second daughter, Lea. They said they forgot what caused it! Tony liked hunting, he was in on many moose hunts at Moose Country Service, and in his younger years could shoot with great accuracy. He enjoyed doing his own mechanic work, and liked improvising specialized tools to help make the job easier, he was always tinkering away at something! Tony really enjoyed telling his stories (sometimes more than once), curling, golfing and planting & harvesting his crops. In the 1980’s Tony played slow pitch on the Drummond Creek team with his children Leonard, Leona & Leon. In the 1990’s he welcomed the addition of 3 grandchildren, Kaley, Jesse and Jared. He spent hours walking fussy babies and has made them laugh for years. Tony truly enjoyed attending all his granddaughters’ fastball & grandson’s baseball & hockey games. In later years he enjoyed going for a drive, and kept himself busy hauling grain, baling, rock picking and harrowing. Tony loved his animals, often regaling anyone who would listen with stories of every horse & dog he ever had. Tony & Sally celebrated their 62nd Anniversary last January, and Tony’s 87th birthday this July with his favourite meal: hot dogs. Tony was good at everything he did, and was out-standing in his field . . . a lot! Tony was a son, brother, husband, father, grandfather and uncle and it was with grace and honour that he filled all those roles. Tony was a good man, a kind man with a gentle soul. He was also a patient and very stubborn man as well. He will be greatly missed by his family and all that knew him. Family & friends celebrated Tony’s life on Saturday, September 21, 2019 at St. Vital Roman Catholic Church in Battleford. Interment took place at the Town of Battleford Cemetery following the service. Donations in Tony's memory can be made to the Battlefords Union Hospital Foundation, Box 1358, North Battleford, SK  S9A 3L8 or to a Charity of the donors choice. Arrangements were entrusted to Robert MacKay at Battlefords Funeral Service (306-446-4200).

Card of Thanks

Sincere thanks to the Battlefords Union Hospital staff for the care they provided in his last days, and Dr. Holtzhausen & staff for Tony’s general care. Thank you to everyone who gave us rides, food, flowers, cards, hugs and prayers. Thanks to our awesome neighbors for handling our crops. Thank you to Bob MacKay and the staff at Battlefords Funeral Service & Eternal Memories, Father Sebastian Kunnath, the staff at St. Vital Church, Joan Harrison & the Choir, the CWL for preparing the lunch and all who participated in the service. Special thanks to Leonard & Lea for the exceptional care they gave their Dad at home, without their help & organization things would have been different.