Ruby Schmitt

Ruby Marie (Bigge) Schmitt, 88, passed away peacefully December 13, 2010 after a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease. Ruby was born April 12, 1922 at home on the family farm near Stockton, Kansas. She was 6th of 7 children born to William and Catherine Bigge. She graduated from Stockton High School and went on to attend Browne Mackie Business College in Salina, KS where she finished a 9 month business course. It was in Salina she met and dated the love of her life, Frank (Schmitty) Schmitt. They had a simple war-time wedding with family standing up for them on February 7, 1942. Ruby followed Frank all over the west as he trained to be a bomber pilot in the US Army Air Corp. After training he fought in WW II being deployed to an airbase in England where he flew 35 missions over Germany. Ruby stayed with her parents and Frank's parents during this time and gave birth to their first child, Karen. Frank met his 5 month old baby daughter for the first time when he returned from the war. After the war, Frank and Ruby remained in KS for several months. But Frank had hay fever problems on the farm, so they decided to try something different. They headed west to Denver where they heard the Los Angeles Police Department was hiring and training police officers. Frank went to work for the LAPD and they ended up in Southern California for 20 years adding another daughter, Marsha, and finally a son, Ronald, to their family. Wanderlust struck again for Frank and Ruby as Frank reached 20 years of service with the LAPD. They had visited Oregon on a trip to the Seattle Worlds Fair and fell in love with Central Oregon. So, in 1965, Frank retired and they settled on their 12 acre retirement ranch 8 miles east of Bend, OR. Another 20 years passed, with their children raised and gone, they decided to move to Boise in 1986 to be near their 3 grandchildren. Frank and Ruby had many active years of traveling abroad to Germany, Austria, Russia, China, Japan, New Zealand, Israel, England, Canada, Alaska, Fiji and Hawaii. They also traveled to square dance/round dance/polka festivals throughout the U.S. They loved to camp at SISCRA near McCall each summer, fish in the nearby lakes, take excursions to the Oregon, Washington and California beaches, a love they passed on to their children. Frank and Ruby were active in the Edelweiss German American Club and the Idaho Outdoor Club and various square dance and polka groups. Ruby and Frank were members of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Boise and were active members until Frank's illnesses slowed them down. Frank passed away August 2005 and Ruby continued to live in their home 3 blocks from her daughter's home and continued to be involved in family, church and club activities until 2007. Her favorite times after losing Frank were family gatherings where she would just sit quietly and watch all the chaos going on around her, always with a sweet smile on her face. Ruby was a talented lady and wonderful homemaker. Her sewing, knitting and quilting graces all of her children's' homes. She passed on her cooking gift and family recipes to her children and grandchildren. She also worked outside the home on and off over the years as a stenographer, typist, church secretary and other office positions, but was always at home before her children came home. Ruby moved to assisted living in February 2009 and into memory care a month later. Alzheimer's slowly took her away from us, but her sweet spirit remained. We will always love you, Mom, Grandma and Great-Grandma. Ruby is survived by her sister, Wilma Royer of Plattsmouth, NE; two sisters-in-law, Gertie Bigge of Laporte, CO and Wilma Bigge of Ann Horbor, MI; her daughters, Karen Wilson and Marsha Philbrook of Boise, ID; her son, Ronald Schmitt of Martinsburg, WV; four grandchildren; four great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. Special thanks to the Overland Court - Generations caregivers and Legacy Hospice, for their loving care of our mother and to her dear friend, Olinda Ackermann, who lovingly supported us. They each in their own way made this difficult journey an easier one for us and our Mom. A memorial service will be held on Friday, December 17 at 10:00 a.m. at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Orchard and Cassia Streets, Boise. A private committal service for Ruby and Frank will be held at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery. Services are under the direction of the Alden-Waggoner Funeral Chapel. In lieu of flowers, Ruby requested that donations be made to the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Memorial Fund.