Ora Schmidt, 92, Grand Forks, ND formerly of Goodrich, ND died Thursday, August 25, 2011 at a Grand Forks nursing home.
Funeral services will be held at the Grace Baptist Church, Grand Forks at 10 a.m. on Friday, September 2 and a second service will be Friday at 4 p.m. at First Baptist Church, Goodrich. Visitation will be held one prior to each service at the respective church.
Burial will be in the Goodrich City Cemetery, Goodrich, ND.

Ora Elaine (Brademeyer) Schmidt went Home to be with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Thursday, August 25, 2011, at the age of 92. Until then, she was living in Grand Forks, ND, as a resident of Valley Elder Care.

Ora was born on April 14, 1919 to Irvin and Hilda Brademeyer in Taylor, ND. She grew up with her sisters, Ann and Marion, and brother Melvin.

In 1937-1938 Ora attended Concordia College in Moorhead, MN and then transferred to Dickinson State Teachers College, receiving her teaching certificate in 1940. Ora's first employment was teaching grades 6, 7, and 8 in Goodrich, ND. She took time off to raise her 5 children and later continued to teach 8th graders, finishing her teaching career educating Kindergarteners in Hurdsfield.

Ora met Walter James Schmidt while teaching in Goodrich and their wedding took place in Ora's hometown of Taylor, ND on June 22, 1943. They returned to the Schmidt farm and homestead 2 miles south of Goodrich where they lived from 1943 -1987. In 1987 Walter and Ora moved 'to town.' They moved to Grand Forks, ND in 2002 to be near by daughters Nell and Myrna and their families and lived there the rest of their days.

Ora was a very busy wife and mother to their 5 children. She excelled in the demanding tasks of a busy farm wife – cooking, canning, sewing, baking, raising a garden, caring for her children, etc. She combined her teaching profession and her love of music by mentoring many piano pupils over the years. She enjoyed showing family and guests her large collection of music boxes. She learned to crochet and the many afghans she created still 'hug' her children, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, and friends with her loving effort.

Ora was deeply committed to our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. She served Him in many ways through their local church, the 1st Baptist of Goodrich. She generously used her talent and gift of music as church organist and pianist for more than ½ century! She especially enjoyed accompanying a men's gospel quartet, the "Son's of Light." She started a Scripture Memory program for the children of the church that was used throughout the North American Baptist Conference. She also instituted and maintained a lending library of Christian flannel graph stories that were sent to churches throughout the United States. She was a Sunday School teacher and actively involved in the Women's Missionary Fellowship. She planned programs to support the missionaries, sewed for the White Cross work, and made very creative bulletin boards emphasizing international missions.

Ora is survived by her five children:
Karen and Tom Hohenshelt – Sadieville,Kentucky
Jane and Ray Hinsch – Warrenville, Illinois
John and Maritza Schmidt – Peoria, Arizona
Nell and Terry Mertz – Grand Forks, North Dakota
Myrna and Robert Noss – Grand Forks, North Dakota
11 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren and her sisters Ann Jacobs of McComb, MS and Marion Harding of Morton, IL.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Melvin Brademeyer and his wife, Hazel. Ora's husband, Walter, went Home to be with our Lord Jesus on July 27, 2006, also while residing at Valley Elder Care, Grand Forks.

Ora was truly a humble servant of the Living God as summed up in her favorite hymn – "Just As I Am". While a student at Concordia College, one of her class projects entitled "The Christian Life" included "I Lay My Sins On Jesus," a hymn written by Horatio Bonar in 1857. Ora's family believes, with Jesus' help, she fulfilled her lifelong spiritual goal as stated in the 6th verse…

"I long to be like Jesus,
Meek, loving, lowly, mild,
I long to be like Jesus,
The Father's Holy Child.

I long to be like Jesus,
Amid the heav'nly throng,
To sing with saints His praises,
To learn the angel's song."

Arrangements with Hertz Funeral Homes, Harvey, ND.