Henry Edwin 'Hank' Schmidt III, 86

Henry Edwin "Hank" Schmidt III, age 86, passed away peacefully May 6, 2024, at his Bellingham home, with his wife by his side. 

Hank was born Jan. 22, 1938, in Seattle, Wash., to Henry Edwin Schmidt Jr. and Elizabeth Louise (Johnson) Schmidt. He was the second of three children and grew up with his older sister, Jean, and younger sister, Janet. Hank, along with his siblings and cousins, spent summers on family property on Anderson Island in South Puget Sound. He attended John Muir Elementary School and Franklin High School in Seattle, graduating in 1955. As an athlete at Franklin High, he broke Seattle City swim records and was named to the All-City Football first teams for both defense and offense.

Hank was a proud pledge and lifelong supporter of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He was a walk-on member of the University of Washington freshman football team, but found his place with the UW Crew, where he was captain and stroke of the Varsity Eight. Hank paid his own way through college, dropping out for one year to work as a garbage collector for the city of Seattle. He graduated from UW in 1961 and went on to receive an MBA from the University of South Carolina while working.

Hank married his beloved Helen Holland in 1982 in Missoula, Mont. They lived in Hayden Lake, Idaho, until the end of 2023, when they moved to Bellingham. 

Hank worked for Litton Industries for 10 years and a property development firm for four years. During that time, he lived in Stamford, Conn., Columbia, S.C., Miami, Fla., San Francisco, Calif., and Houston, Texas. He then worked for a title company in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Later, he became a partner and eventually owner of Broadway Splicing with Helen in Spokane, Wash. Hank ran Broadway Splicing from 1977 to 2005. During that time, Broadway had locations in Spokane, Wash., Missoula, Mont., Lewiston, Idaho, and Priest River, Idaho. 

Hank was a lifelong lover of the outdoors and sports. He loved scuba diving, hiking, skiing, playing golf, and time spent on the water in any kind of vessel. In typical fashion, he asked his wife one day if she would like to go for a hike. She agreed, and they then proceeded to train for six months and eventually climbed Mt. Rainier in 1986. He loved his dogs: Daisy, Sunshine, Alta, Curtis and Zeva. He also loved Corvettes and owned 12 of them in his life.

He will always be remembered for his big heart, bigger personality, and being perhaps the biggest Husky fan to have ever lived. Hank was a very active supporter of UW’s education programs and athletics. 

Hank was preceded in death by his parents, sister Janet Lundquist, cousins Dee (Semon) Milne and Bill Semon, and brother-in-law Robert D. Holland Jr.

He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Helen (Holland) Schmidt, stepsons Dave Richards (wife Kali) and John Richards (wife Kelly), sister Jean Ameluxen, brother-in-law Don Lundquist, step-grandchildren Willow Richards, Mackenzie Richards, and John Colin Richards, nephew Mark Lundquist (wife Randi), nieces Lynn Smith (husband Chris), Beth (Ameluxen) Rutherford and Marci (Ameluxen) Coleman (husband Ed), nephew David Ameluxen, and fellow Phi Delta and oarsman, cousin Richard Semon, MD (retired). 

Hank will be buried on Anderson Island in a private ceremony this summer. 

Our family kindly asks that, in lieu of flowers, please consider supporting one of these causes that Hank loved so much: Companions Animal Center, formerly Kootenai Humane Society, 10275 N. Atlas Road, Hayden, ID 83835 208-772-4019, Trinity Lutheran Church, 812 N. Fifth St., Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814 208-664-5743

To share your memories of Hank, please visit www.westfordfuneralhome.com.