Patricia Claire Schmitt

Patricia Claire Schmitt, née Flanagan, was born in Chicago on October 29, 1946. As the only sister among six brothers, life was rarely quiet. There was always someone to keep up with, cheer for, or sing to sleep. Amid the joyful commotion of her brothers, she developed the strength, wit, and warmth that would become hallmarks of her life. She attended St. Mel School in Chicago through 8th grade and Trinity HS in River Forest. Growing up, she enjoyed baton twirling and Irish step dancing, and despite the best efforts of her brothers, never did learn to hit out of a sand trap. She was rarely without a song in her mind and was nearly always part of a choral group. She contributed to 2 recordings: a double record with the Trinity HS choir in the 1960s and a CD with the St. Pius X (Stickney, IL) parish choir in the early 2000s.

Pat attended University of Illinois Chicago in the 1960s, majoring in anthropology and quickly discovering that field work was not for her. Throughout college and after, Pat worked at the Midwest Stock Exchange in Chicago, IL. One of her duties was reconciling weekly account updates between the Stock Exchange and individual brokers across the nation. One of those weekly calls came from an associate at a local stockbroker, Henry Schmitt, who eventually got the nerve to ask her to meet for dinner and a drink. He quickly became a feature at Flanagan family gatherings. They married in 1976 and loved each other deeply and truly for many years. Their relationship was one of steadfast trust and unwavering support, through the easy moments and the most challenging times. They continually modeled respect, consideration, and partnership to their children, Meg and Dan. Henry preceded Patricia in death in 2012.

An avid reader, Pat embarked on a mission to read all of the fiction in the Stickney Forest View Library’s collection in alphabetical order by author’s last name while her children were young. She loved mysteries, particularly British murder mysteries, most of all, and was rarely seen without a book in hand and several others nearby. Pat was quick with words and possessed a vast vocabulary, which she displayed in completing daily crossword puzzles, teaching her children to play Boggle and Perquackey at a young age, and culminating in a lengthy New York Times word games streak of daily Wordle and Spelling Bee. A master of the single eyebrow raise, Pat frequently deployed it towards categories in the daily Connections game.

In addition to her time at the Midwest Stock Exchange, Pat also held positions within the Lyons School District, Hawthorne Racecourse (despite a fierce allergy to horses), and Navistar-International in several roles including retiree service advisor. Her care and concern for all those she met was prominently displayed in that role as she helped many retirees navigate their health insurance plans and pension changes with patience and grace and never allowed anyone on the phone with her to feel like their questions were dumb or insignificant. Pat had a deep sense of equity, fairness, and justice and was not shy about calling out practices that were antithetical to those principles when presented with an opportunity to do so. This led to her earning the moniker “Tell us how you really feel Pat” at Navistar when recommended policy changes were both a disservice to the current employees and the retirees they served. She retired from Navistar in early 2009.

Patricia was an active member of St. Pius X and Divine Providence (Westchester, IL) parishes. At various points throughout her adult life, she held leadership roles on various committees, with women’s organizations and other small groups, served as a eucharistic minister, and sung in the choir and other musical groups in the congregations. To list all of her contributions individually could fill several paragraphs. One of her favorite roles was that of Vice Chairwoman of an executive committee, a title that made the wordsmith in her chuckle with glee.

In early 2020, Pat moved to La Crosse, WI to be closer to her son, Dan, and daughter-in-law, Lindsay. Through the height of the pandemic, she lived with them and developed a lovely relationship with her grand-cats, Boots and Izzy, again despite a fierce allergy.

In 2021, Pat moved into a vibrant independent living apartment community not far from Dan and Lindsay’s home. The extroverted social butterfly in her flourished in that environment. She was a fixture at nearly all of the community activities, from weekly Jeopardy to line dancing to book club to monthly art projects and beyond. Once, several family members received texted photos of her holding a baby kangaroo in the community room. She always had a smile and kind word for her neighbors and a minute to chat if something was on their mind. Patricia lived independently until nearly the end of her life, even giving her children detailed instructions on how to return books she’d borrowed from neighbors and where they were in her apartment.

Patricia passed away peacefully on July 5, 2026 after a brief period of serious ill-health. In the last 2 months of her life, she had seen much of her beloved family more than once and talked or video chatted regularly with those who couldn’t be physically present in Wisconsin. Gratefully, she was never in any pain. She left this world as she lived in it, with grace, dignity, and on her own terms.

Patricia was preceded in death by her parents, Eulalia and William Flanagan, her husband, Henry Schmitt, her brothers Robert, Stephen, Mark, and John, and her grand-pets Izzy (feline), Boots (feline), and Guinness (canine). She is survived by her favorite (and only) children, Daniel (Lindsay) and Margaret (Nick) and grand-pets Kona (feline), Maui (feline), and Rosalind Franklin (canine). She is also survived by brothers Bill (Dolores, d. 2025) and Michael (Sue) and many nieces and nephews. The number of lives she touched and individuals she loved deeply vastly exceeds her family.

In lieu of flowers, Patricia and her family request that donations be made to either the Hunger Task Force of La Crosse, WI or the Food Bank of the Rockies. A Celebration of Patricia’s life will be held in the Chicagoland area at a later date.