Ronald Schmidt

Rapid City, S.D.

RAPID CITY, SD – Ronald Gene Schmidt passed away peacefully on Sunday, July 16, 2023, at his residence, surrounded by family. He was 86 years old.

Ron lived a loving life dedicated to family, his legal career and community. He was born on February 28, 1937, in Turtle Lake, ND, and resided in Balfour, ND, until he was five years old, when his family moved to Minot, ND. His father, Otto, was a restaurateur, farmer and rancher who ran a summer resort and rodeos at Strawberry Lake, where Ron and his mother (a photographer and jewelry designer) also worked. In 1955, he graduated from Minot High School, where he played basketball and co-edited the newspaper.

After high school, Ron enlisted in the United States Army and spent several years as a member of the Army Reserve. He was stationed at The Pentagon in Washington, D.C., as an aide to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Operations. While in D.C., he enrolled in courses at George Washington University and volunteered with U.S. Senator William Langer.

Ron then attended The University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, where he played football and was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He served as head resident of two dormitories, worked part-time at a law firm, and became a reserved commissioned officer in the U.S. Army. Ron was elected delegate to the 1960 North Dakota Republican Convention and helped to form the North Dakota College Federation of Young Republicans.

During law school, he was a member of the Interfraternity Council Board of Justice, the Student Editorial Board of the North Dakota Law Review, and the Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity. Ron earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration in 1961 and a juris doctorate degree in law, with honors, in 1963.

Ron launched his career as an associate attorney at the Lathrop, Righter, Gordon and Parker law firm in Kansas City, Missouri, where he reconnected with fellow U.N.D. alum Priscilla Schmidt, who worked as a lithographic artist at Hallmark corporate headquarters. They were wed in Huron, SD, on February 8, 1964.

In 1965, Ron, Priscilla and their infant son, Ethan, moved to Pierre, SD, where Ron served as director of the South Dakota Legislative Research Council, Constitutional Revision Commission and Local Government Study Commission. Their two daughters, Ingrid and Eva, were born in Pierre.

In 1970, Ron opened his own law practice. As he established a specialty in construction law, his case work expanded from South Dakota to North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and Nebraska and spanned Federal Supreme, District, and trial courts. He proudly received AV Preeminent ratings by Martindale-Hubbell for his legal ability and ethical standards. Ron found tremendous joy in his career, never retiring, and offered pro bono legal work for clients in need.

For over 30 years, Ron worked as a lobbyist during the state legislative session. He served as general counsel to the South Dakota Association of General Contractors, who presented him with the Golden Hardhat award for his dedication to construction law. Ron represented dozens of organizations including the Independent Community Bankers, the American Insurance Association, the American Council of Life Insurers, the Implement Dealers Association of Minnesota and South Dakota, the South Dakota Municipal League, the American Council of Engineering Companies of South Dakota and the South Dakota Optometric Society.

Governors Frank Farrar and Nils Boe appointed Ron to serve on several state boards, committees and commissions. In 1972, Attorney General (later Governor) William Janklow appointed Ron as Special Assistant Attorney General. Ron also served South Dakota on the Regional Advisory Council to the Small Business Administration, the Council of State Governments committee on Suggested State Legislation, and the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.

In 1992, Ron was nominated by President George H.W. Bush to be a U.S. District Court judge on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, ultimately blocked by Democrats until President Bill Clinton took office.

For decades, Ron served in leadership roles in the Republican party. In 1972, he won the Republican nomination to run for South Dakota Attorney General and, in 1998, he won the Republican primary and ran as the party’s candidate for United States Senate.

When South Dakota Lieutenant Governor Walt Miller became governor in 1993, he asked Ron to fill his position as Republican National Committeeman. Re-elected three times, Ron served on the Republican National Committee for 16 years, including six years as a member of the RNC’s 11-member Executive Committee. He was additionally vice chairman of the Rules Committee and appointed to the Education Task Force and the New Majority Council to increase outreach to minority communities. Ron was a delegate to four Republican National Conventions.

Ron co-chaired the South Dakota Bush for President Committee for George H.W. Bush, South Dakota Lawyers for Bush/Quayle, South Dakota Lawyers for Bush/Cheney and was South Dakota Finance Vice Chairman for George W. Bush. In 1995, the RNC nominated Ron and Priscilla Schmidt to the Eisenhower Commission in recognition of a lifetime of dedication and support. The Pennington County Republican Party presented Ron with the Honest Abe Award to honor his support of local GOP candidates. Throughout his life, Ron collected elephant statues that adorned his office, a nod to his devotion to the GOP.

Another organization close to Ron’s heart was the YMCA, which played a pivotal role in his childhood. From 1973 to 1979, he served as co-founding board president of the Oahe YMCA in Pierre, originally located in the Masonic Temple building. Ron chaired a community fund drive to raise $865,000 in capital for a permanent YMCA building; his innovative funding plan, a partnership with the city to use revenue bonds and lease the land, received national attention.

Ron served on the executive committee and regional board of directors of the YMCA of the USA’s 12-state Mid-American YMCA. In 1983, he was elected to the YMCA of the USA board of directors, where he served on the executive committee and as national director. Ron was a co-founding director of Y-Mutual Insurance Company in Bermuda from 1987 to 1999. He was additionally elected to the national board of directors of The Armed Services YMCA of the USA and served as a trustee of the Sioux Nation Indian YMCAs; Ron was awarded the United Sioux Tribes Indian Athletic Foundation Leadership Award. In 1986, the YMCA of the USA honored him with a Lowell C. Linnes Leadership Award and, in 1993, honored him with Mid-America Field Committee Member Emeritus status.

Ron was also a longtime active member of the Catholic church, chairing two major fundraisers for Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Pierre.

In 2004, the Schmidts relocated to the Black Hills, west of Rapid City, South Dakota, where Ron continued his legal work as part of Schmidt, Schroyer, Moreno, Lee & Bachand. In 2014, Ron joined the Gunderson, Palmer, Nelson & Ashmore law firm in Rapid City, while also working as an arbitrator on the construction panel of the American Arbitration Association. In addition, he was a licensed real estate broker in South Dakota for over 20 years.

Ron was preceded in death by his beloved wife Priscilla, parents Otto and Charlotte Schmidt, nephew Shane Schmidt, and daughter-in-law Kim Schmidt.

Survivors include his son Ethan Schmidt of Rapid City; daughter Ingrid Schmidt of Los Angeles, California; daughter Eva Reed of Minnetonka, MN; grandsons Nick Schmidt and William and Charles Reed; granddaughter Rebecca Schmidt; nephew John (Amanda) Hames; sister-in-law Ann Hames and brother-in-law Mark (Carolyn) Schmidt.

A celebration of life will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, September 16, 2023, at Blessed Sacrament Church in Rapid City. Burial will be at Mt. Calvary Cemetery in Rapid City. If desired, friends may make memorial contributions in Ron’s name to the Oahe YMCA in Pierre or The Republican Party. Condolences may be sent to the family at 11551 West Hwy 44, Rapid City, SD 57702.

Ron’s online guestbook is available to sign at www.osheimschmidt.com.

Published by The Minot Daily News, July 27, 2023.