SCHMIDT, Tina Belle
Tina Belle Schmidt of Kettering, Ohio, died peacefully,
surrounded by her family, on February 12, 2022, at the age of 93. She was preceded
in death by her husband,
Bernhard Schmidt, and by her parents and eleven brothers and sisters. She is survived by her four children, Steven Schmidt (Patty), Alice Schmidt (Jonathan Nakles), Susan
Pekarek (Michael), and David Schmidt (Nancy); three grandchildren, Anthony Schmidt (Devon), Ann Schmidt, and Graham Schmidt (Sarah); and nine great-grandchildren, Kyren, Nihla, Rainer, Arna, Ruby, Frida, Benjamin, Amelia, and Felicity.
Tina was born on May 6, 1928, in Hueysville, Kentucky, the tenth of twelve children. Her parents were Ellis Conley and Minta Huff Conley. Her brothers and sisters were John Brown, Clark, Lee, Nina, Gertrude, Sterling "Dick," Pheba, Josephine, B M "Bud," Dawsie "Peggy," and Delbert Cletis. The family moved from Kentucky to the Waverly area in Ohio in 1936, and later Tina lived in Dayton with her sisters Nina, Jo, and Peggy.
Tina married U.S. Army Captain Bernhard Schmidt in 1948. Bernie joined the faculty of the University of Dayton and was a Professor of Electrical Engineering for 52 years. A Distinguished Service Professor, he was honored for his leadership and exceptional career with the establishment of the
Bernhard Schmidt Chair in Engineering in 2006. Tina provided a comfortable and supportive home life for her husband and their family, first in Dayton and then in Kettering. Tina and Bernie had been married for almost 62 years when he died in 2010.
Tina's parents were schoolteachers and farmers. Her father taught her to read when she was very young, and she was an avid reader for the rest of her life. Tina attended Waverly High School and Wilbur Wright High School. She graduated from Fairmont West High School and attended the University of Dayton. She continued her education throughout her life by reading books, studying maps, and watching television programs and films. At the age of 20, she taught herself to knit, and she continued to knit until the end of her life. Her ubiquitous "dishrags" brighten the kitchens of everyone she loved. Countless newborns have worn her booties, and
hundreds of people still keep warm with her hats and scarves.
In keeping with her lifelong commitment to education, Tina donated her body to the Boonshoft School of Medicine, Wright State University. Tina's ashes will be interred next to her husband's in David's Cemetery, Kettering, Ohio. If you wish to honor Tina's memory, please give a book to a loved one.
SCHMIDT, Tina
