Lotte Marie Schmidt

“Du gingst zur Schule weite Wege, lerntest lieben die intensive Farben dort. Blaur Himmel – grüne Wӓlder, honigfarbener Bernstein – bunte Felder und den weissen Schnee. Muβtest gehen in den dunklen Jahren. Trӓumtest von der Heimat, hast ihn nie vergessen – den Himmel über Ostreussen.”

Lotte Marie (Bӧttcher) Schmidt was born in Bendiglauken near Tilsit, Ostpreussen (East Prussia) on February 6th, 1928. She spent the first 16 years of her life in Tilsit and worked after school mornings for the “Tilsit Reichspost”. In the spring of 1945 she had to flee her home and was eventually re-unified with her mother, sister, and father in Lübeck, Germany. Despite difficult times, Lotte enjoyed her youth, worked at the Lübeck Post Office, loved to go dancing, and she always loved to sing.

She met “Orgelbauer” (pipe organ builder) Hans Schmidt and married him on June 21st, 1952. Hans was offered a promising job in Canada and so both eventually immigrated to Southern Ontario, Canada and move to Massachusetts, USA in the mid 60’s. By then Hans Schmidt had his own company and Lotte was always by his side, supporting Hans,

The Boylston Schul-Verein became a big part of their “family”, as Lotte would always say. Hans and Lotte did not have any children of their own and this prompted to move close to “their” German Club. Together with Hans, Lotte was also a German Aid Society member. Lotte joined the BSV Sӓngerchor Boston and supported the choir as Chairwoman, providing leadership and direction to the committee and also organizing singing competitions with many other New England Singer groups. Lotte loved those years.

After Lotte’s husband passed in 2019, Lotte spent the last years of her life at the New Pond Village Home in Walpole, MA, where she still kept in touch with the Boylston Schul-Verein, the BSV Sӓngerchor, and all her friends. Lotte left us on July 6th, 2025.

“Du bist gegangen, als Gott Dich rief, zu sich in sein Reich – in den Himmel über Ostreussen.”

Wir nehmen Abschied.

Arrangements by James H. Delaney & Son Funeral Home, Walpole.