Orville H. Schmidt, 90, St. Cloud

March 22, 1930 – December 1, 2020

Orville H. Schmidt, age 90, of St. Cloud, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, December 1, 2020 at his home.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic a memorial service will be held at a later date. Burial will be in the Trinity Lutheran Cemetery, Sauk Rapids. Arrangements are with Benson Funeral Home, St. Cloud.

Orville Harold Schmidt was born near Annandale, MN on March 22, 1930. He served in the United States Army during the Korean War and received the Combat Infantryman Badge. Orville graduated from the University of Minnesota Phi Beta Kappa. As a foreign service officer, he served in Jakarta, Indonesia and Hong Kong, where he met Julia Cheng to whom he was married in 1961. In 1967 Harold received his PhD at West Virginia University. He was an active member of Faith Lutheran church serving many years as treasurer. Harold was chairman of the Political Science Department at St. Cloud State University for 5 years, retiring in 1998 .

Orville is survived by his wife Julia of St. Cloud; sons, Mike (Lynda) Schmidt of Tacoma, WA and Nicholas Schmidt of St. Cloud; grandchildren, Lily and Luke Schmidt; and several nephews and nieces.

He was preceded in death by his parents, August and Louise and siblings, Norman Schmidt and Elvira Barnes.