Schmidt, Ernest W. (1922-2005) and Leona Fast Schmidt (1923-2015)
Ernest Wilfred (1922-2005) and Leona Elva (Fast) Schmidt (1923-2015): medical missionaries to the Congo. Ernest was born on 5 December 1922 to Peter D. Schmidt (18 February 1885, Parker, South Dakota, USA - 29 February 1976, Hepburn, Saskatchewan, Canada) and Katharina (Friesen) Schmidt (2 August 1894, Henderson, Nebraska, USA - 18 May 1971) in Hepburn, Saskatchewan, Canada. Leona was born on 28 January 1923 to Jacob P. Fast (3 March 1899, Marion, South Dakota - 5 January 1978) and Anna (Ratzlaff) Fast (13 January 1899, Dalmeny, Saskatchewan - 1991) in Dalmeny, Saskatchewan. They married on 20 June 1950 in Dalmeny and left in 1953 to serve as medical missionaries in the Belgian Congo (Zaire), where they worked until 1964. Ernest died in Saskatoon on 27 June 2005 and Leona on 11 December 2015, also in Saskatoon.
Both Ernest and Leona grew up in Saskatchewan. Ernest was the fifth of eleven children in his family. He was baptized on 28 August 1938 and joined the Saskatoon Mennonite Brethren Church. He served as a pianist in the church, sang in the choir, and helped as a Sunday School teacher and superintendent. He graduated from the Hepburn High School in 1941 before continuing on to Bethany Bible School in the same town. After he was drafted in 1943, he worked as an operating room technician in Surrey, England. In 1945, he returned to Canada and began his studies in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Saskatchewan. He graduated in 1947 before continuing on to the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University, where he finished his training in 1951.
Leona was the second of five children in the family. She became a Christian at the age of 12 and joined the Evangelical Mennonite Brethren Church in her home town. She became involved in the church by teaching Sunday School, as well as Vacation Bible School and Bible Camp lessons. Following high school, she studied at the Tabor Bible School in Dalmeny and then at Bethany Bible Institute in Hepburn, Saskatchewan. Following a year of business studies, she obtained her Registered Nurse designation at the Saskatoon City Hospital School of Nursing.
In 1950, Ernest and Leona were married in Dalmeny, Saskatchewan. Their first child, Howard, was born in 1952, and they eventually had four more children: Joanne, Warren, Katheryn, and Janet. On 7 December 1952, Ernest and Leona were ordained for mission work by the Saskatoon Mennonite Brethren Church, and they left New York on 13 August 1953 for a year of study in Belgium before going to work in Africa.
In the Belgian Congo, Ernest served as a doctor in Kajiji, Kikwit, and Pai Kongila, while Leona raised their children and helped out in many other ways. Together with some of the other mission workers, they helped establish a new hospital while also continuing to treat people at the other locations. Political troubles and revolution in the country made it necessary for them to travel to Canada several times during their term.
In 1964, Ernest and Leona Schmidt returned to Canada from Africa and moved to Saskatoon, where Ernest took training in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Saskatchewan. After graduating in 1968, he set up a practice in Saskatoon and also taught as an associate professor of medicine. Leona led women’s groups and Bible studies, as well as helping with English as a Second Language students. Even after their retirement, they both continued to serve as much as they could.
Ernest and Leona Schmidt were dedicated mission workers who had a profound influence on medical service in central Africa. Whether they were in Africa or Canada, they were examples of dedication for others to follow.
Bibliography
Ancestry.com. "Anna Ratzlaff (1899 - 1991)." http://www.ancestry.ca/genealogy/records/anna-ratzlaff_33629851.
Geni.com. "Katharina P. ‘Cat’ Friesen." http://www.geni.com/people/Katharina-P-Friesen/6000000031031036679.
Geni.com. "Peter Tobias P.D. Schmidt." http://www.geni.com/people/Peter-Tobias-P-D-Schmidt/6000000031031829276
GRANDMA (The Genealogical Registry and Database of Mennonite Ancestry) Database, 4.19 ed. Fresno, CA: California Mennonite Historical Society, 2005: #115512, 115521.
Missionary Album of Missionaries Serving under the Board of Foreign Mission of the Mennonite Brethren Conference, Inc. October, 1954. Hillsboro, Kansas: The Board of Foreign Missions, 1954.
Obituary. Ernest W. Schmidt. Mennonite Brethren Herald 45 (19 May 2006): 25.
Obituary. "Leona Schmidt." http://dalmenyfuneralhome.ca/obituaries/leona-schmidt
Obituary. "Leona Schmidt." http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thestarphoenix/obituary.aspx?pid=176865893
Toews, J. B. The Mennonite Brethren Church in Zaire. Fresno: Board of Christian Literature, General Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, 1978.
| Author(s) | Susan Huebert |
|---|---|
| Date Published | February 2016 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Huebert, Susan. "Schmidt, Ernest W. (1922-2005) and Leona Fast Schmidt (1923-2015)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. February 2016. Web. 30 Oct 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Schmidt,_Ernest_W._(1922-2005)_and_Leona_Fast_Schmidt_(1923-2015)&oldid=134681.
APA style
Huebert, Susan. (February 2016). Schmidt, Ernest W. (1922-2005) and Leona Fast Schmidt (1923-2015). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 30 October 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Schmidt,_Ernest_W._(1922-2005)_and_Leona_Fast_Schmidt_(1923-2015)&oldid=134681.
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