Full Obituary

     LEROY C. SCHMITZ, age 83, of Greenwood, formerly of Rib Lake, passed away at his home after a short and courageous battle with cancer, on Wednesday, April 15, 2015 surrounded by his family.  Funeral services will be held at 11am on Saturday, April 18, 2015 at St. Anthony's Catholic Church, in Loyal, with Rev. Steve Brice officiating.  Burial will take place in St. Stephen's Catholic Cemetery, in Chili, at a later date.  Visitation will be held at the church, on Saturday, from 9am until time of service.
     Leroy Clarence Schmitz was born on September 10, 1931 in the Town of Fremont, Clark County, WI, to William and Adelia (Kopf) Schmitz.  He was raised on the family farm, received his education at Heathville Country School and graduated from Loyal High School in 1949.  After high school, Leroy worked at Barr Minkery before joining the Wisconsin National Guards.  He was united in marriage to Audrey Mae Bauer on August 30, 1954 at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Stratford.  He took over the operation of the family farm in 1954 and farmed until 1980.  They moved to the Stone Lake/Spirit area where they owned and operated L&A Resort until retiring in 1986 and moving to Rib Lake.  After the death of his wife Audrey, on August 10, 1995, he continued to live in Rib Lake until moving to Greenwood in 2012.
     He was a member of St. Anthony's Catholic Church, the Lion's Club, Chili Sportsman's Club, and the National Farmer's Organization, in which he was very active and held various offices.
     Leroy had many interests, but especially loved spending time with his family and friends, fishing, hunting, his trips to Canada, gardening, playing cards and cribbage, and watching most all sports.
     He will be dearly missed by his 8 children:  Janet Meacham of Greenwood,  Randall (Kathy) Schmitz of Loyal,  Rodney Schmitz of Loyal,  Julie (Allan) Trachte of Rhinelander,  Rick Schmitz of Rib Lake, and the triplets: Peter Schmitz of Rib Lake,  Paul (Bonnie) Schmitz of Ayton, Ontario, Canada, and Patti Schmitz (Karri Gorton) of Tomahawk.  He is further survived by 12 grandchildren:  Jenny Lee, Chanda, Kristie, Rory, Shena, Joe, Kelly, Heather, Kelsi, Taylor, Tyler, Cody;  4 step-grandchildren:  Ryan, Brock, Dustin, Kailey;  11 great grandchildren;  2 brothers:  Marlin "Coon" (Virginia) Schmitz of Granton,  Gary Schmitz of Spencer;  his special nephew: Steve Schmitz of Taft, CA; other nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
     He was preceded in death by his parents;  his wife, Audrey; one sister:  Shirley Tesmer;  and one brother: Russell "Bud" Schmitz.
     Leroy's family would like to thank the staff at Ministry Home Care Hospice for their generous compassion, concern and care during this difficult time.