Leonard Schmit, age 88, of Foley, passed away Aug. 19, 2025 at ECUMEN, St. Benedict’s Care Center, St. Cloud. Mass of Christian Burial was 12:30 p.m. Aug. 22 at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, rural Sauk Rapids. The Rev. Michael Wolfbauer officiated and burial took place in the parish cemetery. Visitation was 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the church Friday. Service with Dignity provided by the Foley Funeral Home.
Leonard Joseph Schmit was born Nov. 6, 1936, in St. Cloud, to Christ and Wilhelmine (Kieke) Schmit. He lived in the Foley area all of his life. He married Joan Abfalter, and they later divorced. He was a past member of the National Guard and worked for McGary Brothers Construction, Foley Produce, Wapicada Golf Course and St. Regis Paper Mill until his retirement. He was a member of the United PaperWorkers Union International. Leonard was an avid outdoorsman and enjoyed hunting and fishing. He was a member of the Trail Hound and Fox Hound Association; life member of the National Rifle Association and the National Arbor Foundation. He was an avid softball player, enjoyed woodworking, planting trees and doing taxidermy work and volunteered for the veterans deer hunt at Fort Ripley. Leonard enjoyed archery hunting and hunted big game in Colorado, Idaho, Fort Ripley, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Schoolcraft State Park and made several trips to Lake of the Woods. He was a member of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church.
He is survived by his daughters, Michelle (David) Keske of Sauk Rapids and Jody (Joe) Henry of Foley; his grandchildren, Chris, Blake (Lindsey) and Korey Keske and Chase Henry; his brothers and sisters, Rube (Marge), Dennis (Judy), Delphine Goenner, Lilly (Duane) LaVigne, and Teresa Kolb; brother-in-law, Fred Goenner; many nieces and nephews and best friends; and Jody, Shelly and his extended family and caregivers at ECUMEN of St. Ben’s will never be forgotten. He is preceded in death by his parents; brother and sister-in-law, Donald and Judy Schmit; sisters, Mary Goenner, Henrietta Lichte and Laura Moeller; and brother-in-laws, John Kolb, Jim Goenner and Bert Moeller.
