Obituary of Svea Schmidt

Margaret was born in Ljungby, Sweden, April 28, 1920. Her parents, Carl and Minnie (Swenson) Moritz had gone by ship to visit relatives in Sweden. Something happened to the ship and it had to be delayed before returning to the States. Margaret was born in Sweden and the family returned to Tacoma, WA, when she was 6 months old. Raised in Tacoma, she graduated from St. Joseph Hospital's School of Nursing. She married Fred L. Schmidt May 1, 1942, and their daughter, Dorothea, was born in Fort Lewis, WA, in 1943. When Fred came back from the war, he was hired by Crown Zellerbach Corp. and the family moved to Camas, WA. Their son Frederick was born in Vancouver, WA, in 1946. The family lived in Camas for the remainder of her life. She and Fred were married 56 years when he died in August of 1998. Margaret practiced nursing at several places before she started working for the Southwest Washington Health Dept. She spent many of her last years there in the STD unit before retiring in 1986. She was a member of the Camas United Methodist Church. She enjoyed sewing, counted cross stitch, knitting, and crocheting. Her grandchildren were very special to her. She liked to take them shopping when they were young. She shopped until they dropped. She is survived by her children, Dorothea (Richard) Cowan, of Camas and Frederick C. Schmidt of Kingston, WA; and by her brother, C. Irwin Moritz of Tacoma. Also surviving her are her grandchildren John (Kim) Crawford; Jim (Jeanne) Crawford; and Julie (Bruce Hyke) Crawford all of Vancouver, and William (Sheri) Crawford of Washougal. She had 11 great-grandchildren and 5 great, great-grandchildren. There are also many cousins, nieces and a nephew. She will be cremated and inurned with her husband, Fred, in Willamette National Cemetery, Portland, OR. Margaret requested no flowers or services but donations may be made in her memory to Hospice, Community Home Health and Hospice, 14508 NE 20th Ave, Suite 201, Vancouver WA 98686; or (her nursing school's scholarship fund) Franciscan Foundation, PO Box 1502, Tacoma WA 98401-1502. Brown's Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Camas has been entrusted with arrangements.