June 26, 2017 at 4:05 p.m.
Elizabeth Louise Lacy Schmidt
Elizabeth Louise Lacy Schmidt
Elizabeth Louise Lacy was born Jan. 24, 1927, in Chicago, Ill., to Anna Louise Kenney Lacy and Kenneth Bowen Lacy. The Lacy family settled in Highland Park, Ill. and established a summer home in Rhinelander. The time Betty spent at "the cottage" on Lake Thompson provided her with some of her most cherished memories and she considered Rhinelander "home."
She received her degree in Agriculture, with distinction, from Purdue University in 1950, married another Purdue graduate, Eugene "Bud" Schmidt, and moved to Harvard, Ill., where the couple went into the flower business and started a family. She was an excellent flower arranger and devoted mother.
Betty became very involved in Cub Scouting as a busy Den Mother when Bud entered a new career working for the Boy Scouts of America in Illinois. Betty and Bud then followed opportunity in a move to Phoenix, Ariz. Bud's career in the Boy Scouts also took the pair to Canoga Park, Calif., Bremerton, Wash., Brawley Calif., Valencia, Calif., then finally retiring to Tucson, Ariz., where they lived for many years.
Betty was a creative person who particularly enjoyed crafts. Betty and Bud together founded Skycrest Ceramics, making unique and original designs of dollhouse miniatures. After Bud left the Boy Scouts, the pair traveled throughout the Southwest, successfully marketing their work at trade shows and building a solid wholesale business.
After many years running Skycrest, Betty and Bud retired from the miniature business, then eventually moved to Windsor, Colo. and finally to Fort Collins.
Betty was preceded in death by Bud in 2014. She is survived by her son Kenneth Schmidt and daughter-in-law Robin Schmidt, of Onalaska, Wash., her son Andrew Schmidt and daughter-in-law Deah Sperling-Schmidt, of Huntington Beach, Calif. and her son Timothy Schmidt and daughter-in-law Jonie Fidek, of Fort Collins, Colo. She is also survived by her sister Margaret Herbst and brother-in-law Ted Herbst, of Germantown and Rhinelander; her grandchildren, Jeremy, Erin, Jenna and Kaitlin, and great-grandchildren Emma, Casey and Harvey.
Betty believed strongly in the power of positive thinking and she met the trials of her life with determination and a positive grit that inspired many around her. She was thoughtful and kind, but also had a wry sense of humor.
Betty was more likely to say "go" rather than "no" when a new idea came along.
She enjoyed music, cross-stitch needlework, collecting Royal Doulton character mugs, traveling and visiting restaurants. Her voice, her thoughts, her energetic spirit and her beautiful smile will be missed.
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