February 25, 1931 – January 9, 2015
William “Willie” Jacob Schmidt passed away on January 9, 2015 at Glacier View Lodge in Courtenay.
He is predeceased by his mother Anna Louise, Father William Lawrence Schmidt and sisters; Dorothy, Terry and Patsy.
Willie is survived by his wife Lorena Rose Ramsay, son; Perry (Christina), daughters; Brenda (Ron), Dawn (Lloyd), Lisa, Candace (Mike), and Pam (Hein), grandchildren; Colten, Cassandra, Cameron, Brennan, Jesse (Casey), Sam, Cali, Krista, Kara and Amanda, great grandchildren; Millie, Colton, Eli, brothers; Isedor and Sheldon, sisters; Louise (Ron) and Macy (Tom).
Willie was born in Macklin, Saskatchewan and grew up with 5 sisters and 2 brothers. His father was a pro baseball player then farmer. When Willie was 7 they moved to B.C., first to Victoria, Denman Island then Courtenay in the Happy Valley area.
Willie joined the RCMP at the age of 22 and served for 23 years with postings in Regina, Ottawa, FlinFlon, Churchhill, and Dauphin, Manitoba.
He enjoyed his work in the RCMP but not all the background politics. When Willie retired from the RCMP he bought a bakery and turned it into a pet store. He ran this for 11 years. On his hobby farm he had a passion for bees and raised over 50 different varieties of chickens, many sheep, goats, pigs, ducks, geese and other various animals.
After he married Lorena they moved from Winnipeg to Denman Island then Union Bay where they operated the Highwayman Pub together since 1986.
At Willie’s request there will be no formal service at this time. Flowers gratefully declined.
Memorial donations can be made in Willie’s name to Glacier View Lodge Society in thanks for the tender loving care they provide.