Douglas 'Smitty' Schmidt

PRINCETON — Douglas "Smitty" Ralph Schmidt, 83, of Princeton passed away at 8:43 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016, at Perry Memorial Hospital in Princeton.

Born March 23, 1933, in Princeton, the son of William and Martha (Christensen) Schmidt, he married Shirley Jean Becker Nov. 29, 1953, in Princeton. She survives.

He was a graduate of Princeton High School. He was the manager of the FS Station, owned and operated Smitty's Gas Station and the Yellow Cab business, was a deputy at the Bureau County Sheriff's Department, was an auctioneer, worked at the Precision Car Wash and the NAPA store, and sold real estate.

He was a lifetime member of St. Matthews Lutheran Church and the Bureau County Fair, a volunteer fire chief of the Princeton Fire Department, a former Bureau County Board member and a member of the Princeton Elks Club. He served in the U.S. Navy and later the U.S. Army during the Korean War.

Also surviving are two daughters, Debbie (Robert) Harrison of Princeton and Jodi (Steve Krivinchuk) Ebens of Stone Lake, Wis.; five granddaughters, Torri (Duane) Price, Paige (Michael) Petersen, Olivia Harrison, Megan (Josh) Michel and Cortney (Derek) Elliot; three great-grandsons, Austin Patterson, Gavin Elliot and Colson Michel; one brother, Donald Welty; two half brothers, Bill Welty and Ken Welty; three half sisters, Joan Heng, Jan Fulffs and Nancy Ross; three brothers-in-law, Ronald Becker, Fred Becker and Bruce Becker; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; one half brother, James Taylor Welty; and one sister-in-law, Ruth Ann Zweep.

Services will be at 10 a.m. Monday, Aug. 22, at St. Matthews Lutheran Church in Princeton with the Rev. Scott Schmidt officiating. Burial will be in Elm Lawn Memorial Park, Princeton, with military rites conducted by American Legion Post 125 and assisted by the Princeton Fire Department.

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 21, at the Grant-Johnson Funeral Home in Princeton.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to St. Matthews Lutheran Church or the Hudson Heaton Scholarship.

Pallbearers will be Bruce Becker, Michael Petersen, Duane Price, Nolan Fritz, Bob Hudson, Robert Harrison, Bill Welty and O.K. Welty.

Online condolences may be left at www.grant-johnsonfh.com.