David Schmeiser, age 84, of Carroll, died Tuesday, September 5, 2023 at St. Anthony Regional Hospital in Carroll.
A celebration of David’s life will be held from 2-4 p.m. on Saturday, September 9, 2023 at the Sharp Funeral Home in Carroll. A funeral service will be held at 4 p.m. with Rev. Cindy Johnson of St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church officiating.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be directed in David’s name to Iowa PBS at 6450 Corporate Dr., P.O. Box 6450 Johnston, IA 50131, or https://www.tfaforms.com/5019520?tfa_136=7018b0000021YPSAA2
Funeral arrangements are under the guidance of the Sharp Funeral Home in Carroll, and online condolences may be left at www.sharpfuneral.com.
David Schmeiser was born February 27th, 1939, in Carroll, Iowa, to Martin and Winona (Hall) Schmeiser, the youngest of their three sons. He attended Catholic schools in Carroll, and graduated from Kuemper in 1957, the first class to attend all four years at the newly-formed school. He attended Iowa State University and graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice.
David and Mary (Rutten) were united in marriage on August 26th, 1961, in Mt Carmel. They made their home in Mt Clemens, Michigan, and later Grand Blanc, where they raised their four children. David was a Probation officer for eight years, before spending the rest of his career with AAA of Michigan. After retiring, they moved back to their hometown of Carroll in 2008.
“Daver” enjoyed his family and friends a great deal. As founding members of the “Blood Brothers” (a close-knit group of camping friends), Dave & Mary and their children enjoyed not only camping, but traveling the country in their motorhome, especially after their retirement, attending countless College football and baseball games, spring training, and many other adventures.
An avid sports fan, David officiated high school, junior college, and semi-professional football and basketball for nearly 50 years, even making a miraculous return after breaking both knees in an accident in his 60’s. The highlight of his career was being the Head Umpire for a Michigan high school state football tournament game in the Silverdome in Detroit. Even though he graduated from Iowa State, David used to brag about being the biggest Iowa Hawkeye fan in Michigan and despised the rival Wolverines with a good-natured passion. After retirement, and moving back to Carroll, David & Mary supported both the Hawks and his alma mater, the Cyclones. He was also a Civil War, U.S. Presidents, (especially Lincoln), and sports historian, reading and collecting hundreds of books on these and other subjects.
David was also a race fan, particularly the Indy 500, attending over 40 races in a row, and listening to them on the radio as a child before that. He shared this passion with his family, with eventually three generations making the voyage to Indianapolis every Memorial Day weekend.
David Schmeiser is survived by his wife, Mary, his children Susan Schmeiser of Carroll, Nancy (Todd) Jansonius of Carroll, and Nicole (Craig) Brunskole of Northville, Michigan, and five grandchildren: Eric Jansonius of Maxwell, Iowa, Alex Jansonius of Carroll, Aiden Brunskole, Andrew Brunskole, and Anja Brunskole, all of Northville, Michigan, a brother, Martin “Jack” Schmeiser of rural Glidden, a sister-in-law Patti Schmeiser of Michigan, long-time family friend Nita Capitan of St. Claire Shores, Michigan, as well as many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Martin and Winona (Hall) Schmeiser, a son, Eric Schmeiser, a brother, Jerry Schmeiser, and two sisters-in-law, Joyce (Bluml) Schmeiser, and Elaine (Wenck) Schmeiser