Copeland - Betty Jean (Smith) Schmidt was born February 5, 1931, to Fred and Myrtle Smith at Ulysses, KS. She peacefully passed away December 16, 2024, in her room at Bethel Home, Montezuma, Ks, reaching the age of ninety-three years.

After moving from Kansas, Betty's early years were spent in DeRidder, Louisiana. In her teenage years, the family moved to Winton, California, where she met God and was baptized March 3, 1947, by Min. Herman Mininger. She remained faithful to these vows to the end. She worked in a vegetable dehydrating plant until her latter twenties. Betty met Merle Schmidt when he came to Los Angeles for service. They were married on January 25, 1959, at Winton, California. He brought her to Kansas to the home place where they lived their entire married life. To this union were born two sons, Steve and Everett.

Betty enjoyed keeping a nice home and cooking. The family always had the best of meals. We often gathered at folks on Sunday evenings after church. Mom would bring out multiple snacks, aiming to please everyone. She was an avid gardener, harvesting vegetables and doing much preserving.  She loved growing flowers and grew many beautiful ones. They were also night owls. The community would often see them headed to Garden City in the late evening. She and Merle both enjoyed singing with two other couples, Vernon and Elda Nichols and Floyd and Lorena Frank. Over one hundred songs were sung by memory. She enjoyed listening to singing.

She always enjoyed her siblings, but in her later years they became even more precious. She visited with her sister Jackie nearly every day.

In December of 2021, Merle, her husband of sixty-three years, died leaving her very lonely. She spent a year at the home place. She then moved to Bethel Home. The family is grateful for the care that Shon and Kara Unruh and family as well as Berniece Koehn, a special friend, gave to Mom since Dad's passing.

Those left to grieve her passing are her sons, Steve and wife Donna of Hiawatha, Kansas; Everett and wife Ann of Los Lunas, New Mexico; eight grandchildren and fourteen great grandchildren; siblings, Claudell and husband Herb Spence; Jackie Koehn; Bill Smith and wife Pauline; Calvin Smith and wife Connie; and brother-in-law Richard Giesbrecht. She is preceded in death by her husband, Merle; her parents and parents-in-law; one sister, Sally; and one brother-in-law, Larry Koehn.

Funeral service will be held at Salem Mennonite Church on Sunday December 22, 2024 at 10:30 AM with Ministers Ryan Nightingale and Sam Unruh presiding.  Burial will follow at Salem Mennonite Cemetery in Copeland.  Visitation will be at Swaim Funeral Chapel of Montezuma on Saturday December 21, 2024 from noon to 3:00 PM.  Thoughts and memories may be shared in the online guest book at www.swaimfuneralhome.com.