Elmer Waldschmidt

A Mass of Christian Burial for Elmer Waldschmidt, 87, of Riverside, will be held Thursday, February 14, 2019, at 10:30 AM at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Riverside with Father William Roush officiating. Burial will follow at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Riverside. Visitation will be held Wednesday, February 13 from 4 – 7 PM at St. Mary's Catholic Church, where a Rosary will be recited at 3:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be given to Riverside 1st Responders or the American Heart Association. Elmer Waldschmidt died Friday, February 8, 2019, at Lantern Park Care Center in Coralville.

Elmer Earl Waldschmidt was born May 12, 1931, in Hills, Iowa, the son of Earl and Helen (Wiese) Waldschmidt. He graduated from St. Mary's Catholic High School in Riverside. He married the love of his life, Shirley Wieland, on August 7, 1951, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Riverside. Elmer was proud to be a US Marine and served as a radiotelegraph operator from 1951 – 1953 at Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, CA. Elmer worked as a custodian at Highland schools for 30 years. He was known for pulling jokes on teachers, staff, and students, especially the cooks. Elmer was a lifelong member of St. Mary's Catholic Church. He loved gardening, the Cubs and Indians, Iowa Hawkeye Football and Iowa Basketball and the Tuesday morning breakfast group, FOOF. He enjoyed his annual trip to Wisconsin to visit his close friend Brian O'Donnell. Elmer's family was his biggest joy, there weren't many sporting events that he missed. His daughters will miss his daily calls and visits but know he is at peace to finally be back with "the girl with the smile".

Survivors include five daughters: Diane (Al) Lowe of Riverside, Nancy (Greg) Sojka of Riverside, Cindy (Don) Becker of North Liberty, Linda (Scott) Frank of Riverside, Jean (Tony) Redlinger of Tiffin, 16 grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren, two sisters: Marjorie (Joe) Gase of Cedar Rapids and Carolyn Shalla of Kalona and a sister-in-law Mary Waldschmidt of Lone Tree.

Preceding Elmer in death were his parents, his wife Shirley in 2017, his brother Cletus "Boots" Waldschmidt and a brother-in-law Cliff Shalla.