Thomas (Tom) Oswin Schmitz passed away November 2. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends, but we know he is rejoicing in heaven because of his deep faith in God.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022 at 12:30 p.m. at Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. Burial will be held at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Bismarck. A livestream of the service will be available on the church website, https://venue.streamspot.com/event/MzUxMTI1NQ== .
Visitation will be held from 5-8 p.m. on Sunday with a Rosary/Vigil Service at 7 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service at the church.
Tom was born December 21, 1938, to Oswin and Josephine Schmitz. After growing up in Golva, North Dakota, and graduating high school in 1956, he served in the U.S. Army. He returned from the Army and married the love of his life, Diane Bruski, on June 10, 1961. They lived in Fargo and Tom worked for International Harvester. Together, they raised four children, Mike, Bob, Dan and Sheryl. He graduated from NDSU with a major in business economics in 1971.
Tom and Diane moved from Fargo to Bismarck in 1971, where he was a partner in Haas International, which then sold out to Red River International. It was eventually known as Nelson International, and Tom stayed on in sales until his retirement in 2005.
The family created many memories camping before buying a lake home on Lake Tschida. Tom will be lovingly remembered for his ‘puttzing’ around the cabin – always fixing something, his calm spirit and ability to make friends with anyone he met. Tom and Diane also enjoyed spending winters in Apache Junction, Arizona, during their retirement. Tom was preceded in death by his parents, Oswin and Josephine Schmitz and a grandson, Ryan Schulz.
He leaves behind his wife of 61 years, Diane, and children Mike (Janel) from Bismarck; Bob (Anne) from Wichita, Kansas; Dan (Andrea) from New Salem; and Sheryl (Duane) Schulz from Bismarck, and one sister, Mary Colling from Bismarck.
He enjoyed and was so proud of his grandchildren and their spouses, Jason and David (Kate), sons of Mike and Janel; Nic (Mandy) and Kersten (Tim), children of Bob and Anne; Dan (Terri), Jim (Leslie) and Alex, sons of Dan and Andrea; and Jonathan, Jessica (Ryan) and Lori (Wendlin), children of Sheryl and Duane; and his 11 great grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family prefers memorials to Light of Christ Catholic Schools, God’s Child Project or Cathedral of the Holy Spirit.
Go to www.bismarckfuneralhome.com to sign the online guestbook or to share memories with the family.