Notizen zu dieser Person
Donald Julius Schmeckpeper died on September 12th while residing in Anoka, MN.
Memorial services 10:30 a.m., Saturday, September 20, 2014 at Trinity Lutheran Church, Bemidji with Pastor Lewis Polzin officiating. Visitation will be 5-7p.m., Friday, September 19 at Olson-Schwartz Funeral Home,Bemidji. Family will greet friends one hour prior to the service at the church. Inurnment will be in Greenwood Cemetery, Bemidji.
Donald was born July 6, 1925 in Glencoe, MN to Dietrich and Bertha Schmeckpeper. He was the youngest of 11 children and graduated from GlencoeHigh School in 1943. He attended the University of Minnesota for fallquarter playing football and winning a malted milk for breaking the tackling dummy. His Gopher football career came to an end when he chose togo deer hunting instead of attending the game. Following his love forflight he enrolled in aircraft mechanic school that led him to a job working at Kaneohe Bay Naval Base, Hawaii. From there he joined the Merchant Marine and traveled to several ports including Tokyo, Japan and Naples, Italy where they returned Italian prisoners of war and brought American POWs home. After returning to New York and traveling back to Minnesota he enrolled at Bemidji State Teachers College where he resumed his football career and was also one of the top 3 trackmen. While attending college he met and married Jean Brown in 1948. He graduated from BSTC in 1950 and began his teaching career at Humboldt, MN where he drovethe school bus, taught industrial arts, coached basketball and startedthe track program. In 1951 he began teaching at Bemidji Senior High where he assisted Leo Cooper with the track program and was one of the members of the "Chain Gang" working the high school football games. Duringhis summers he did construction building many decks, garages, and eventually remodeling the Bemidji Airlines offices. He bartered his construction talents for flight lessons leading to him getting his pilots license. From there he went on to teach flight ground school during summerschool and gave many of his friends the thrill of flying in a small plane. One of his proudest accomplishments while teaching was building a home built airplane that he proudly flew on its maiden flight. He retired from teaching in 1986 and thoroughly enjoyed his retirement living onLake Irving with Jean, golfing, hunting, feeding the birds and attending coffee sessions with his fellow retired teachers. In 2002 he was inducted to the Bemidji State University Athletic Hall of Fame and was a proud member of Beaver Pride. He continued to follow the Lumberjack, Beaver, and Gopher football teams.
Don is survived by his 3 children; Jeff (Barbara) Schmeckpeper, Julie (Dan) Olson, Jim (Lois) Schmeckpeper; 6 grandchildren, Kate (Erik Wiebust) Schmeckpeper, Ben (Kathryn) Schmeckpeper, Emily (Tom) Dickinson, Anne Schmeckpeper, Kristen (Luke) Johanneck, and Jessica (Sam) Harting; 3step-grandchildren, Drew Olson, Shannon (James) Baxter, and Mitchel (Kelsey) Olson; 6 great-grandchildren with another due in December and onein February and 2 step-great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife Jean, his parents and all of his siblings. In lieu of flowers memorials to Trinity Lutheran Church or Bemidji State University arerequested.
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Matthias
Steinke
