POWNAL — Walter Schmidt, 86, passed away peacefully on June 15, due to complications from advanced Alzheimer’s.

He was born in Neider-Penzig-Hammer, Germany, on March 1, 1924, the only son of William Walter Schmidt and Ellis Marie (Welz). After his family emigrated to the United States and settled in Freeport, he worked on the family farm and alongside his father at what is now Wolfe’s Neck Farm in South Freeport. Following high school graduation, he entered the U.S. Army and trained in military police operations. He served at Normandy as a translator and with the repatriation of German citizens.

After the war he returned to Freeport, where he farmed and logged. He eventually met Fae Wilson, whom he married on March 21, 1953. They built a home on the Poland Range Road in Pownal and then spent a decade in California, where he was a crew boss for the Douglas Fir Timberlands near Oregon. In the early 60s, the family moved back to Pownal and grew their home into a small farm, where they raised their four children. He taught his kids to care for the land and livestock, to work hard, to love and to be loyal. When not farming or logging, he spent time with carpentry and masonry, building many of the region’s fine fireplaces and chimneys.

He enjoyed traveling with Fae and spent many summers exploring the west and traveling north through Canada to Alaska. They also spent considerable time fishing, hunting, hiking and canoeing at the family camp on Ragged Lake in T2 R13 WELS.

Walter and Fae were regular members of the Freeport Elders Club and longtime members of the Amvets in Durham. Together with Fae and their grandsons, he enjoyed watching the Red Sox, the Patriots and NASCAR racing. He was also known for his strong working-man’s handshake, his enjoyment of the polka, and walks through the “big pines” at the farm in Pownal.

He was predeceased by his wife of 53 years, who passed away in July of 2006. He will be missed by their four children and three grandchildren: Heidi Burgess and her husband, Mel, and daughter, Kirstin, of Lewiston; William and his wife, Stacey, and their twin sons, Ben and Bryce; Russell Schmidt of Pownal and Vicki Schmidt of Hebron. He is also survived by his only sister, Doris Ritter, of Port Charlotte, Fla.