William "Bill" Schmied, Jr.

William “Bill” Charles Schmied Jr., age 79, passed away in Aurora, Colorado on February 25, 2023.  Bill was born January 6, 1944 in Richmond, Virginia to parents William and Ann Schmied.  He was the 2nd oldest of eight children, with three brothers and four sisters.  Bill is preceded in death by his parents and the love of his life, Sue Ellen Schmied, who died February 22, 2021.

Bill joined the military and landed in Lakeside, MT as an airman in the Air Force and was stationed at an air defense radar site.  Not far from Lakeside, Bill stayed in the small town of Kalispell where he met Sue at the Conrad Bank where she worked.  Being the young, handsome airmen he was, he swept Sue off her feet and they were married in Bigfork in 1966.  Their adventure began as a military couple and over the years they were stationed in the Philippines, Japan (twice), North Carolina and South Carolina, before landing permanently at Lowry Air Force base in Denver in 1983 where they continued to raise their two children.

Bill spent 30 years of service with the United States Air Force and retired as Chief MSGT in October, 1991.  Bill enjoyed retirement for almost 2 years, which included some travelling as well as not shaving and growing a face full of hair!  Not being able to sit still for too long, Bill found a new home in civilian employment and continued to work until 2009, when he retired for the second time from Newark Services in Aurora, CO.   By then, Bill had become a grandpa five times and along with Sue, together their love for their grandchildren shined brightly above all else.  They rarely missed a sporting or school function and not only had their own set of car seats, the grandchildren had their very own room at the house.

Bill was forever a military man at heart and remained closely connected to his love of the Air Force.  He was Treasurer of the Colorado Chapter of AFTAC Alumni (Air Force Technical Applications Center) for years and was honored as the AFTAC Alumni of the year in Florida in 2007.  Bill will be honored and remembered with a funeral mass at St. Pius the Tenth in Aurora on Thursday, March 16, 2023 and then laid to his final resting place at Ft. Logan National Cemetery that afternoon, surrounded by family and friends who loved him.  Bill is survived by his two children, Jeb Schmied and Stacia Johnston, 5 grandchildren and his first great-granddaughter.

A Visitation will be held on Wednesday, March 15th at 4:30pm with a Recitation of the Rosary to follow at 5:30pm at the Horan and McConaty Family Chapel at 11150 E. Dartmouth Ave. Aurora, CO 80014. A Funeral Mass will take place the following day, Thursday, March 16th at St. Pius X Catholic Church at 10:30am followed by burial at 1:30 at Fort Logan National Cemetery.