Mary Sylvia Schmidt

Sister Mary Sylvia Schmidt went to be with the Lord on December 3, 2019.  She was born Patricia Ella Nora Schmidt on February 8, 1937 in Devine, Texas to George and Ella (Brieden) Schmidt.  She was preceded in death by her parents and five brothers, Joe (and wife Inell), George, Julius (Gladys), Francis (Dennie), and Kenneth, brother-in-law, Tal Simmons, and her great friend Father Patrick Flanagan.  She is survived by her sister, Mary Simmons, sisters-in-law Grace Schmidt and Beverly Schmidt, seventeen loving and devoted nieces and nephews, their spouses, children, and grandchildren.

Inspired to a life of service by her elementary school teachers, she joined their order, The Sisters of Divine Providence, in 1950.  She received a degree from Our Lady of the Lake University in 1956.  She became a life-long educator teaching elementary school in Shreveport, La. and calculus and physics in Catholic high schools in Schulenberg, Fredericksburg, and Castroville.  In 1967 she was assigned to be head of the religion department at Bishop Kelly High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Deeply involved in the Tulsa community, Sister Sylvia became a Pastoral Assistant at the newly formed St. Thomas More Catholic Church and Associate Director of the Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry.  She served as the TMM Executive Director from 1988 to 2000 where she received national recognition for her outstanding work with teen drug users and the homeless.  She received many awards including ones from the St. Paul African-Methodist-Episcopal Church, the National Conference of Community and Justice, the Jewish Federation, and the Islamic Society of Tulsa.  She served on numerous boards, as well as a trustee of Phillip’s Theological Seminary which presented her with an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.

Sister Sylvia returned to San Antonio in 2000 to be near her family that she always loved and kept close to her heart.  She and Father Flanagan enjoyed traveling the world as part of their work on peace and justice issues.  In retirement she stayed active providing religious education throughout the area and advocating for battered women.

She was one of thirty individuals highlighted in Dan Rather’s book, The American Dream (Stories from the Heart of Our Nation), in which he said, “There are people who give, and there are people who give everything.  Sister Sylvia Schmidt falls in the latter category.”

Visitation will be held Friday, December 13, 2019 from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. with the Rosary recited at 7:00 p.m. in the Hurley Funeral Home Chapel in Devine. Mass will be celebrated at 9:00 a.m. Saturday, December 14, 2019 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. Services will conclude at the church.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Tulsa Metropolitan Ministries at 221 S. Nogales, Tulsa, OK 74127 or a charity of your choice.

Arrangements are under the direction of Hurley Funeral Home, 303 W. College Ave, Devine, Texas 78016 (830) 663-4445.