Josef Schmid Jr.

Josef Schmid, Jr.
Mr. Schmid, 70, twenty-eight year resident of Charlotte, died August 19, 2004. Strengthened in his Faith and with the Sacrament of the Sick, Joe passed away peacefully with his family at his bedside in Presbyterian Hospital. Joe was a man of quiet convictions and a strong sense of social justice based on his Faith and his personal experience. He served combat tours as a medic in the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and as a medic in Japan and Thailand. A graduate of the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, in German and in French, he wrote and spoke six European languages, and served as a Military Intelligence translator in West Berlin and West Germany during the Cold War. He retired from the U.S. Army as a Specialist 7. Joe graduated magna cum laude from the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 1973, and was the Staff Translator for Georgetown Steel, Midrex Corp., and Korf Industries. Later, as a free-lance translator, he specialized in technology, patents, medicine and law.
To his family and friends he was a resource 'dial up' library of information, curious facts, painfully funny puns and amusing anecdotes. An adventurous traveler, Joe befriended people of every 'race and creed', ever curious to learn about them, their language, and their ways. For all who knew him, Joe was the person to call when you needed someone whose prayers would be on a 'direct line.' When he met someone new, he would have a word in their language to ask them about, or an amusing phrase that he had learned, just to make the stranger a friend. His German and Irish heritage ensured his love of singing, of music, and of sharing a good story - yours or his.
Left to remember his courage, intelligence, and faithfulness to his ideals are his wife, Rosemary Krider Schmid, his daughters Katherine Schmid and Erika Schmid of Charlotte, and his sons Josef Schmid, III, M.D. and his wife Etsuko Taira Schmid, of Houston, Texas, and James Schmid and his wife Sonya Newcombe Schmid, of Concord, NC. Joe, born April 19, 1934, was the oldest of the six children of Josef, an immigrant from Cham, Germany, and Helen Aubrey Schmid, of Shreveport, LA, both deceased.
Joe will also be remembered by his sister Bette Anne / Sister Cyrille, a Little Sister of the Poor, of Dinan, France; his brother Paul Schmid and his wife Jackie, of Oldsmar, FL; his brother Bob Schmid and his wife Marilyn, of Saint Louis, MO; and his sister Mary Schmid of Barnhardt, MO. Joe's sister Helen Rose Schmid, who introduced him to his wife of 40 years, died in 1977. Joe was the oldest of the 'out-laws' (his term) in his wife's family of eleven children, including local 'out-laws' Kate Krider Satchwill and Bill Satchwill of Charlotte, and Kris Krider and Michele Koblinsky-Krider of Davidson, and 50+ nieces, nephews, and grand-nieces and grand-nephews scattered across the United States. Joe's family and friends stretch around the world, especially in Germany, Spain, and Japan, but name a country and someone there would call him friend. Over the years, Joe's families, and the many friends of his children and international exchange visitors who found a temporary home with the Schmids discovered in 'Mr. Schmid' a kind, loving, and caring man.
Visitation is on Tuesday evening, August 24, from 5 to 9 pm, with Rosary at 7 pm, at Harry & Bryant Co, 500 Providence Road, Charlotte. Joe's life will be celebrated with a Funeral Mass on Wednesday August 25 at 2 pm at Saint Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 6828 Old Reid Road at Park Road. Burial will be private.
Joe was always proud of his sister's work in the Little Sisters' care for indigent elderly around the world. In his honor, memorials may be made to the Little Sisters of the Poor, Dinan, France, in care of the family at 3010 Eastham Lane, Charlotte, 28209.