Wilbert Schmid

Wilbert “Will” A. Schmid, aged 93, passed away on Wednesday April 30,2025 at St. Mary’s Hospital after a short but very determined fight. Will was born on February 20,1932 on a dairy farm outside of Mt. Vernon, WI. His parents, Wilhelm “William” Schmid and Clara May (Skogen) Schmid had six children. Will was the youngest. He was preceded in death by his dear wife Jytte Dahl (Jepsen) Schmid, his father, his mother and brothers Sanford, Donald, Delmar, Glenn and sister Dorothea Fetherston.

Will’s father recognized early that Will was not born to be a farmer. He enrolled him at the University of Wisconsin – Madison where Will earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry. Will joined the Air Force upon graduation to follow his dream of flying jets. After training on various aircraft, it was off to see the world with tours of duty around the globe. While stationed in Germany one of his squadron’s tasks was to train the Danish Air Force. While in Denmark he met Jytte. They were soon married and had two boys, Jay and Keith.

Will was proud of his Air Force career and often spoke of the fact that he had flown the fastest fighter plane in the Air Force arsenal (F106) and the largest plane in the Air Force arsenal (B-52). The F106 was his favorite plane and enabled him to achieve speeds above Mach 2.

Post retirement, Will moved his family back to Verona, Wisconsin and began a second career in Real Estate. He rose to become the General Manager of the First Realty Group before being tasked with founding a new company, Universal Home Protection in Madison. He was incredibly proud of this company and the successful team that leads it today. James Imhoff, Holly Donarski and Joe Luther were not only colleagues, he considered them among his closest friends.

Will was an avid golfer into his 90’s and member of the Edelweiss Chalet Country Club. He was a follower of all sports related to the Badgers.

He is survived by his sons, Jay W. Schmid of Laguna Beach, California and Keith C. (Paula) Schmid of Saratoga Springs, New York. He was incredibly proud of his sons’ accomplishments and the accomplishments of his two grandchildren, Evan K. Schmid and Dana C. Schmid. He will be missed by his many nieces and nephews in Wisconsin and Denmark.

Funeral Services and visitation will be held at CHRIST MEMORIAL LUTHERAN CHURCH, 2833 Raritan Road, Fitchburg on Monday, May 12th. Visitation will begin at 10:30am with Services commencing at noon. A reception at the church will immediately follow prior to burial in the Verona Cemetery. The Rev. Jeff Meyer, Will’s friend and former neighbor, will officiate.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to any of the organizations that Will actively supported. They are: UW Carbone Cancer Center, Wounded Warrior Project, Tunnels to Towers Foundation. To view and sign this guestbook, please visit: www.ryanfuneralservice.com