May 16, 1992
Father F. Raymond Schmidt
Father Schmidt was born on February 4, 1911 in Tipton, MO. After studying at Conception Seminary, Conception, MO and Kenrick Seminary, St. Louis, MO, he was ordained by Bishop Schwertner at St. Mary’s Cathedral on June 11, 1938. He was an assistant at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Wichita for two years before becoming pastor at Burns with Spring Branch as a mission in 1941. In 1942 he entered the U.S. Army as a chaplain and served in Italy with the 98th Bomber Group and later in North Carolina, Nebraska and Texas. Upon his return to the Diocese of Wichita in 1946 he was pastor in Claflin followed by El Dorado; Tampa; Wellington; Florence; Winfield with Oxford as a mission and St. Anne, Wichita. His last assignment from 1961 to 1980 was to St. Joseph Parish in Ost after which he retired to live in Ellinwood until his death on May 16, 1992. Father Schmidt’s funeral and burial were held at St. Joseph Parish in Ost with Bishop Gerber as principal celebrant.