Obituary of Donald D. Schmidt

Donald D. Schmidt, age 87, died peacefully on April 30, 2012. Don was born July 20, 1924 in Plainfield, NJ, son of the late Helen and Raymond C. Schmidt, Sr. He is survived by his brother, Raymond C. Schmidt, Jr. of Cranford, NJ and his loving wife of 67 years, Janice (Haskard) Schmidt of Plainfield, NJ. Don is also survived by two daughters, Susan C. Schmidt of Plainfield, NJ and Jane M. Ellis and her fiance, Alan Snell of Old Orchard Beach, ME and two sons, Donald R. Schmidt and his wife, Diane, of Oldsmar, FL and Peter D. Schmidt and his wife, Mary Ellen of Wilbraham, MA. He will be sadly missed by five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Don was a lifetime communicant of St. Mary's Church and was a man of great religious faith. He shared his gifts of common sense and sense of humor with many people. He attended Seton Hall University and distinguished himself athletically by playing nine seasons of professional baseball and was a teammate of such baseball legends as Joe DiMaggio, Phil Rizzuto, Yogi Berra and Hank Aaron, during the service World Series in Hawaii in 1944. For his prowess, Don was elected to the Union County Baseball Hall of Fame. Don was a veteran of WWII and he spent more than 40 years in the oil delivery service business. Don passionately followed Notre Dame Fighting Irish football, Toronto Maple Leafs hockey and the N.Y. Yankees. In his later years, Don became a prolific writer and submitted numerous editorial pieces to the Courier News and New York Times. A Funeral Service will be held at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, May 7th at Higgins Home for Funeral, 209 West 8th Street, Plainfield followed by a 10:00 a.m. Mass of Resurrection at St. Mary's Church, Plainfield, NJ. Interment will follow at St. Gertrude's Cemetery, Colonia. Visitation is on Sunday from 2-4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Don's name to VANJHCS-Lyons Campus, 151 Knollcroft Road, Lyons, NJ 07939, Attn: Voluntary Services, checks should be made payable to VANJHCS-Lyons Campus in the memo section please write 8886.