Richard "Smitty" Schmidt

Richard “Smitty” Schmidt, age 68, of Yankton, South Dakota, died unexpectedly on Sunday, February 4, 2024, at his home in Yankton.

 Mass of Christian Burial is 10:30 AM, on Saturday, February 10, 2024 at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Crofton, NE.  Burial will be in the Crofton City Cemetery.  Visitation is from 5:00 to 7:00 PM, on Friday, February 9, at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church with a vigil service at 7:00 PM.  Visitation continues one hour prior to the funeral at the church.  Arrangements are under the direction of the Wintz & Ray Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Yankton.

 Pallbearers are Josh Haberman, Lane Haberman, Ian Haberman, Brian Bauch, Brian Wiebelhaus and Jeff Dreesen.

 Richard Lee Schmidt, "Smitty" or "Schmitkins", was born March 1, 1955 to Ronald and Myrtle (Sherman) Schmidt in Yankton, SD. Smitty was the youngest of their two sons.  He grew up in Crofton where he attended and graduated from Crofton High School in 1973.  After graduating, he pursued Auto Mechanics at Northeast Community College in Norfolk, NE.  After college, Smitty worked for the State of Nebraska and Zip Feeds in Yankton.  There, he did odds and ends jobs along with driving the feed truck.  On November 6, 1976, he married Barb Poppe.  During that time, they welcomed two wonderful daughters into the world.  After the dissolution of their marriage, Smitty moved to Tulsa, OK where he worked as an apartment complex Maintenance Supervisor, for Lincoln Property Company, for many years.  In 1996, after the sudden passing of his only brother Vern, Smitty moved back to Yankton to be closer to his family and his daughters.  He started working as a certified HVAC technician for Larry's Heating and Cooling, KPH and the Human Services Center until he retired in April of 2021.  He kept busy after retirement, doing side jobs alongside Jeff Dreesen and Mark Tramp.

 He enjoyed attending many sporting events, watching the Crofton Warriors, the Crofton Bluejays and the Wynot Blue Devils.  He also enjoyed taking Toby to the river and on four-wheeler rides, golfing, hunting and fishing, camping, boating, watching baseball, riding motorcycles with his friends, and bowling in his younger years.  He was a lifelong Nebraska Cornhusker and Oakland Raiders Fan.  Smitty enjoyed the rivalry he had with his best friend Brian (Wiebelhaus), between his Oakland Raiders and Brian's Kansas City Chiefs.

 Smitty was so proud of and absolutely adored his two daughters, his six grandchildren, and of course his dog Toby. He was a proud supporter of anything that his daughters and grandchildren were involved in.  He tried not to miss any one of their events.  He was an amazing neighbor and handyman.  He was always willing to lend a hand whenever he could and just like his Dad, he loved to tinker on anything he could find lying around in his garage. He loved to make old things work again.  Smitty had a great sense of humor and will be greatly missed by so many.

 Smitty is survived by his two daughters, Kasi (Josh) Haberman of St. Helena, NE and Jamie (Brian) Bauch of Crofton, NE; six grandchildren: Lane and Ian Haberman and Cali, Kaybrie, Kylin, and Caylor Bauch; and many close friends.

 He is preceded in death by his parents, Ronald and Myrte, and his brother, Vern.