Services are scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 8, at the Slade-O’Donnell Funeral Home in Leon, Iowa, for Jo Ellen Schmid.
Schmid, 72, passed away Friday, Jan. 3, 2020, at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Kans.
Pastor Rick Hawkins will officiate the services, with interment to follow at the Decatur Cemetery in Decatur, Iowa.
Visitation began at noon today, with the family receiving friends from 6-8 p.m.
Jo was born April 4, 1947, in Leon, the daughter of Charles Creston and Marie Josephine (Gilchrist) Quick. She grew up on a farm between Leon and Decatur, attending Lone Star Country School.
After graduating from Leon High School in 1965, she moved to Florida for a time before returning to Iowa. While attending secretarial school in Des Moines, Iowa, she met Jerry Mentzer. The two moved to Jefferson, Iowa, together and were blessed with two daughters, Jodi and Jina.
Jo moved to Avoca, Iowa, and worked at the Avoca Journal- Herald until 1987, when she moved to Artesia with Roland Schmid. The two were married in 1988.
Jo worked at the Artesia Daily Press for 27 years, retiring as Society Editor.
In 2011, she moved in with her daughter, Jodi, in San Antonio, Texas. When the Air Force transferred them to Germany, she moved to Dallas, Texas, near daughter Jina. Jo moved back to Jodi’s when they returned to Texas, then moved with them to Wichita.
In her free time, Jo enjoyed working crossword puzzles, reading fiction romances, westerns, and biographies, and watching television. She loved the outdoors and nature, especially watching the birds.
Survivors include her children, Jodi Fridley and husband Mike of Wichita, and Jina Ball and husband Elijah of Sequin, Texas; grandchildren Creston and Brooke, Tyler and Natalie, Madison, and Mackenzie; two great-grandchildren and two more expected in 2020; sister Janice Fosdick and husband Bill of Lamoni, Iowa; sister-in-law Evy Quick of Leon; many nieces and nephews; and other relatives and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents and brothers Eddy, Jerry, Kenneth and John Dee “J.D.” Quick.
Arrangements are under the direction of Slade-O’Donnell Funeral Home. Condolences may be expressed online at http://www.sladefuneralhome.com.
