Brenda Lee Wade Schmidt

Brenda Lee Wade Schmidt, age 61, of Baltic, died peacefully under hospice care on May 18th , 2023, at Ava ’ s House in Sioux Falls. Funeral services will begin at 11:00 AM Wednesday, May 24, 2023, at West Nidaros Lutheran Church, rural Crooks . Interment will be at Ss. Simon and Jude Cemetery in Flandreau. Visitation will be from 4:30-7:00 PM Tuesday, at Willow Creek Lutheran Church, rural Dell Rapids.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be made to Sioux Falls Canine Rescue, in memory of Brenda. These donations will help cover the costs associated with caring for the four-legged friends in their rescue program. Steve and Brenda have fostered many dogs and later adopted both Cash and Diamond from this organization. Donation details and online giving options can be found at https://www.sfcaninerescue.org/info/donate .

Brenda was born December 8, 1961, in Britton, South Dakota, to Duane and Sharon (Holland) Wade. Her father died when she was 12. She grew up in Britton, graduating from Britton High School in 1980. Brenda received her BA in English and Journalism from Augustana College in 1984, then began a lifelong career as a journalist.

Brenda ’ s first job was with the National Hardware Association magazine. From 1985 to 2017, she worked at the Argus Leader , with one year (1990) at the St. Cloud Times . She joined the Moody County Enterprise in 2017, retiring in 2021. She also wrote freelance articles for multiple publications and South Dakota Public Television.

On May 5, 1990, Brenda married Steven J. Schmidt at Ss. Simon & Jude Catholic Church in Flandreau, South Dakota. Brenda successfully bid on Steve at a bachelor ’ s auction, and they never looked back. They shared a love of the farm, antiques and their three sons.

Being a journalist with an unpredictable schedule and raising a family is not easy. With help from Steve, Brenda made it work. A stay-at-home dad before the boys started school, Steve made sure Brenda had a good meal waiting for her when she arrived home. She was devoted to her job but rarely missed her sons’ activities, including Austin's concerts, Andrew's football games and, most recently, Nick's stock-car races.

When Brenda was in the newsroom, she focused on her work as a reporter and editor. She covered multiple beats and would tackle any assignment. She was proud of the magazine she edited, SHE (Style Health Entertainment), starting in February 2015. When there was a tight race for U.S. Senate one election year, Brenda volunteered to stay all night and update the returns online. She slept underneath her desk.

A highlight of her career came one evening when she was working late in the newsroom. The phone rang—and Brenda ended up sharing a meal with George H.W. Bush, future president of the United States.

Coworkers knew Brenda ’ s competitive heart would pump a little faster during big news events, but she would also convey sadness and empathy during tragic times such as the Mickelson plane crash and Spencer tornado. Freedom of the press is an essential part of democracy, Brenda believed, and she worked tirelessly to uphold that right.

Along with her ability to capture pathos, humor and unbiased facts in her stories, perhaps a greater gift to the newsroom was her heartwarming friendship. For a colleague ’ s 40 ^th birthday, she led the effort to hire a local talent to appear in the newsroom as a homeless woman. The coworker had written numerous articles on the plight of the downtrodden. Out of the blue, this “ bag lady ” appeared at his desk, loud and cantankerous, insisting that he write about her. The colleague never forgot the 10 minutes of embarrassment, laughter and good-natured fun—a hilarious birthday gift and an unforgettable act of friendship.

Brenda was a longtime 4-H leader with the Winter Creek Rangers. She looked forward to the annual South Dakota State Fair. First, she would help her boys prepare for Minnehaha County Achievement Days, with entries from cookies to woodworking to the cat show. Andrew showed his dog Tessa in 4-H, and they are still together. Brenda enjoyed how involved her sons were. The only downside was having to fill out all the labels for the multiple entries.

Brenda was an active member of Willow Creek Lutheran Church, where she was WELCA president, Sunday school teacher and superintendent, church council member and deacon. If baked goods and lefse were needed, Brenda was there. She enjoyed the live Christmas pageant in a barn, with animals all around—and she was even kissed by a camel. There ’ s photographic proof.

Christmas also meant the season to bake cookies that saluted her Norwegian heritage. In 2016, Brenda and Steve traveled to Norway with a church group. Brenda had researched her relatives and was grateful to connect and visit with those she found in Skudesneshavn on Norway ’ s west coast. She also was interviewed on Norwegian TV while waiting with the group to see the king and queen in Trondheim.

Other favorite activities: camping, traveling, reading and spending time with her beloved grandchildren. And the 90 percent off Christmas sale at Target—she would fill the back of her car with items that sometimes stayed there until March. Her boys offering to clean out her car was a favorite Mother ’ s Day gift. Recently, Brenda and Steve began giving foster dogs a temporary home, except for Diamond and Cash, who moved to the farm permanently. She loved other dogs during her life, and they loved her.

After her first diagnosis in 2009, Brenda faced cancer with optimism, grace and determination. She wrote about losing her hair, how Nick gave her a mohawk, then her mother shaved the rest the next day. She fretted about wearing a wig to Austin and Shelby ’ s wedding, but she wrote, “ No matter what I put on my head, I’ve noticed that the first thing people look at is a smile. I plan to keep wearing that.”

Survivors include her husband, Steve, Baltic; three sons: Austin (Shelby) Schmidt, Sioux Falls, Andrew (Caren) Schmidt, Bowdle, and Nick (Jolynn Adler) Schmidt, Florence; six grandchildren: Lily and Elliot, Everett and Ivan, and Brixlee and Jarrett; her mother and second father, Sharon and Orville Helgeson, Langford; one brother, David (Shantelle) Wade, Britton; two stepbrothers: Alan (Linda) Helgeson, Sioux Falls, and Chris Helgeson, Plymouth, Minnesota; Steve ’ s siblings: Barbara (Dick) Muckle, St. Paul, Minnesota, Robert Schmidt, Flandreau, Bev (Jerry) Austin, Keystone, Camilla Schmidt, Flandreau, Karen Schipper, Flandreau, Rick Schmidt, Flandreau, and Jerrelyn (Torry) Cole, Flandreau; many nieces and nephews, other family and her friends.

She was preceded in death by her father, Duane Wade; her in-laws, LaVern and Minnie Schmidt; brothers-in-law, Jim Schmidt and Steve Haman; nephew, Drew Haman; her grandparents, Wayne and Elma Wade and Elmer and Esther Holland; and her step-grandmother, Almina Helgeson.