Funeral Details

Ann C. Schmidt was born in Burlington, Iowa on January 11, 1941, to Clarence and Edna Schmidt. She grew up in Fort Madison, Iowa and graduated from Aquinas High School there in 1959. She was involved in music from early days of piano lessons, to HS plays, and going into Music Education. Ann got her college degree while becoming a School Sister of Notre Dame in St. Louis, MO. She taught music in area schools there, until she left the convent and moved to Carbondale, IL in 1970 to continue her studies at Southern Illinois U where she worked toward her Masters. Ann worked at the Council for the Jewish Elderly in their Adult Day Care Center, in Evanston, IL. using her music and teaching skills with those who had Alzheimer’s. She also worked in their administrative office. Ann pursued an art education in the early 2000’s, at the American Academy of Art, in Chicago. Religion was always very important to Ann and she found a home in Judaism for over 30 years. She was an integral part of the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, singing in their choir. Not only did she study to learn new rituals and the Hebrew language, she traveled twice to Israel to work on a kibbutz. Her studies continued until she became bat mitzvah in 2013. Throughout Chicago, Ann found great venues to play her piano. Nothing delighted her more than engaging others in music. Even to the end, when she was giving lessons via Zoom, Ann brought joy to others with her open smile and open heart. She will be missed by so many whose lives she touched deeply. Ann is survived by her sister, Mary Walker-Baptiste and brother-in-law, Louis Baptiste of Waretown NJ; her brother John Schmidt of Glendale, CA; nephew Sean Walker of Middletown, NY and great-niece Gwen; niece Kelly Walker-Tomaino of Fairview, MT and great-nephew Walker; niece Ava Schmidt, of Glendale, CA. Ann also leaves an enormous gathering of friends who loved her. Donations in Ann’s memory could be sent to: Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, 303 Dodge Ave, Evanston IL 60202, www.jrc-evanston.org/form/donation.html or Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants,10024 S Central Park Ave, Chicago 60655 icdi.z2systems.com/np/clients/icdi/donation.jsp?campaign=50& Arrangements by Chicago Jewish Funerals-Skokie Chapel, 847.229.8822, www.cjfinfo.com