Allan Jay Schmidt

Allan Jay Schmidt, 82, of Arcadia, died Wednesday, March 5, 2025, at Brookefield Park in St. Paul.

Services will be 10:30 a.m. Monday, March 10, 2025, at the United Methodist Church in Arcadia. Al’s lifelong friend, Rolen Sell will officiate. Burial will be in the Lee Park Cemetery, west of Arcadia.

Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday, March 9, 2025, also at the United Methodist Church in Arcadia.

Memorials are suggested to the Arcadia Fire Department or to Lee Park Cemetery.

Peters Funeral Home of St. Paul is assisting the family.

Allan was born on Dec. 5, 1942, the youngest of five, to Hans and Cora (Greenland) Schmidt. He attended grade school at Riverview country school. He would go on to attend Arcadia Public School, graduating in 1961.

Upon graduation, Al worked for Bushman Construction Company working on the construction of the Arcadia Diversion Dam, Sherman Dam and the irrigation system of those dams. Little did he know at that time that those projects would become a huge part of his life. On July 22, 1962, he married Demaris Bolli and they would journey through life together for the next almost 60 years. In August 1963, Al and Demaris welcomed their first child, Shelley. They would welcome their second child, Todd, in October 1966.

In a twist of fate, in May 1965, Al started working for Farwell Irrigation District and the family moved to a home overlooking Sherman Dam. He would remain as watermaster until March of 1975 when he would be hired as manager of Middle Loup Irrigation District, which is connected to the Arcadia Diversion Dam. For the next 38 years, Al devoted his life to the irrigation system serving the area farmers; sometimes praying for rain and sometimes praying for it to stop; something his family would never figure out. During his career, Al was on the Board of Directors of the Nebraska Water Resources Association, Nebraska State Irrigation Association and the Loup Basin Surface Water Development Association. He also served on the Governor’s Water Policy Task Force from 2002 through 2009, which earned him the honor of the 2004 Headgate Award given by the Four States Irrigation Council. Al retired in December 2013 after almost 48 years of dedication to water resources and irrigation.

Al and Demaris purchased her father’s farm and built a larger cow/calf operation with some farming. As much as water was his career, his cows and land were his passion. He never sold his cattle on a rainy day because he didn’t want his cattle ‘all muddied up’. He instilled in his family the importance of the land and never missed an opportunity to tell us “The land will always be here and provide. No matter what, never sell the land”.

Al didn’t have many hobbies, as work and his cattle were what he enjoyed the most. He did however enjoy a candy bar and a good cookie washed down with a cold Coke. If given the choice, he would have the dessert rather than the meal. And he could always tell a really good joke.

Al is survived by his daughter Shelley and husband, Dennis Heikel of Farwell; Lance, Marti and Emma Heikel of Pleasanton, Cinch Heikel of Arcadia, and Riggin Heikel of Harrison, NE; along with Dennis’ other children, Rich and Julie Gappa of Kearney, Tanya and Curt Munson of Elkhorn, Sloan and Bill Anderson of Omaha and Lindsay and Chad Murdock of Waterloo, and their children. He is also survived by his nieces and nephews, along with many lifelong friends.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Demaris on May 20, 2022; son, Todd; and his brother and three sisters

And as we move forward in this new life without him, may we remember his favorite saying, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”.