Gerald Wayne Schmidt

Gerald Wayne Schmidt was born on July 2, 1938 in Des Moines, Iowa one of three children born to Claude and Mildred (Cross) Schmidt. When he was a child the family moved to Oakridge, Oregon where he was raised and educated. After graduating with the class of 1956 he entered the U.S. Airforce, serving in Korea between the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Jerry, as he was known, came to La Grande to work for the new Boise Cascade lumber mill where he worked as a carpenter and a millwright until he retired in 2003.

On November 25, 1969 he and his sons Dan and Greg became a family with Carolyn Alexander in La Grande. Together they had a son Eric.

Jerry was a devoted and active member of the La Grande Church of the Nazarene. He enjoyed hunting and fishing and the out of doors. He and his family had a pinewood derby and he loved building the derby cars and always built extra for friends and neighbors' children who didn't have their own.  He loved all cars and took great care of them, especially his yellow Corvette, which he recently replaced with a classic Mercedes, neither one of which he would drive in the rain. He spent many hours at various car shows, showing his and enjoying looking and talking to other owners.

Relatives who remain are two of his sons, Greg of Gold Bar, Washington, Eric and his wife Amanda of Nampa, Idaho; five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wife Carolyn in 2015, his son Dan and his brother and sister.

A service will be held Saturday, June 7, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. at the La Grande Church of the Nazarene 109 18th Street. He will be privately laid to rest next to his wife at the Island City Cemetery.

Contributions in memory of Gerald “Jerry” Schmidt may be made to the La Grande Church of the Nazarene.