Annette Florence Schmidt (Fortier)

Annette Florence Schmidt (Fortier), our beloved mother and grandmother, passed away on November 22, 2024, at the age of 88. Annette was born in Flint, Michigan on December 29, 1935 to Stephen and Mary Fortier and had three siblings: Terry, Marilyn and Steve. It was in Flint that she met our dad Fred, while working as a soda jerk. They married in 1955 and moved to Norfolk, VA shortly thereafter for Navy Duty. Eventually, they settled in Grand Rapids, MI. At its core, our Mom’s legacy is one of unconditional love and faith. She lived out this calling every day – as a wife, mother, grandmother, and lifetime career. She saw raising her eight children as the cornerstone of her life’s work. But even amidst the hectic early years of family life, she still found time to volunteer at church, St. Adalbert’s School, and at Mt. Mercy, cooking for the retired nuns. In this time, she became “Mom”(and eventually “Gramma”) to many that extended far beyond her biological family. Our Mom never missed an opportunity to make someone feel special. Whether that meant beginning an elaborate “prank” gifting tradition that would span nearly a decade or remembering the smallest details of peoples’ families or favorite foods. Her home was the gathering place of decades of love – and she was a natural at hosting. If you arrived early to help at a party, you knew where everything was supposed to go because she mapped the table out with placeholders. Even with an overflowing house, she found the physical and emotional space to welcome an extra guest or send you home with a loaf of her famous bread. She lived a life of service to others and brought joy to all those who knew her - whether they encountered her for a moment or a lifetime. Outside of her time with family and friends – our Mom loved a good garage sale, did all her sewing by hand, diligently followed the Royal Family, and spent weeks at a time camping. Over the years, Mom and Dad drove all over the US, camping in over 25 different states. Gramma shared her love of camping and nature with her kids and our kids – giving “sink baths” to many little ones at the cabin in Baldwin and welcoming back tired hunters around warm food and campfires. She was strong and extraordinary. In her later years, she spent a decade caring for our Dad after his Alzheimer’s diagnosis. She loved him deeply until the time of his death in 2017, and continued to love and honor him until her own death. For the last 7 years of her life, she began experiencing dementia and spent more time at home, where she loved watching and feeding the wildlife. She never stopped hosting, even “collecting” snacks from the assisted living facility to keep in her cupboards as an offering to the many people who visited her. It turns out that it was never her physical house, but Gramma herself, that created the feelings of “home” when people gathered. Annette Schmidt is survived by her children and their spouses: Fred (Karen), Ed (Sue), Tom (Tammy), Mary (Mike Fitzpatrick), John (Janet Johnson), Joe (Jennifer), Rob (Sue) and Angela (Tim Stack); her 26 grandchildren (+ 14 spouses), 30 great grandchildren and 1 great-great grandchild. She cherished the company of our Dad’s brother, Jerry Schmidt, and his wife Ruth during their visits. She treated our in-laws and our friends as her family, especially Jay and Nichole Spencer. Join us in love as we celebrate a life well lived. Please bring your stories and memories of our Mom. Let us honor her life by closing it the way she lived it, by gathering together in joy, pain, love, laughter, and storytelling. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at the Basilica of St. Adalbert on Wednesday, November 27th at 11:00 AM where she will repose one hour prior to the Mass. There will be a visitation at Arsulowicz Brothers Remembrance Mortuary, 3525 Remembrance Rd NW on Tuesday, November 26th from 6 to 9 PM (with a Vigil Service beginning at 7:30 PM). In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Emmanuel Hospice, Kids Food Basket or the Basilica of St. Adalbert.

Tributes

Annette Florence Schmidt (Fortier)

December 29, 1935 - November 22, 2024