The service for Maxine will be livestreamed at the bottom of her obituary on this page.

Maxine Adolph Schmit, 91, passed away peacefully on January 4, 2023, at Augusta Place in Bismarck.  Maxine had been a resident there since 2010.  She was ready to join her family in heaven.  Funeral services will be held at 10:30 AM on Monday, January 9, 2023 at the Washburn United Methodist Church with Pastor Bob Schmidt officiating.  Interment will be held at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, January 10, 2023 at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, rural Mandan.  Visitation will be held from 4:00 PM until 6:00 PM on Sunday at Goetz Funeral Home, Washburn and will continue one hour prior to the service on Monday at the church.

Maxine Adolph Olson was born January 22, 1931 to Adolph and Belle Fairbanks Olson in Lisbon, ND.  She was the youngest of five girls.  Her father died when Maxine was six weeks old.  She was raised, then, by her mother and her cherished maternal grandma, Helma.

She grew up and was educated in Lisbon, graduating from High School in 1949.  She then attended Dakota Business School in Fargo.  She worked in Fargo for a short time before marrying Richard Schmit on March 28, 1952 in Bismarck.

They made their home in Washburn for 37 years, Richard built and remodeled homes, and Maxine raised their family of four, and three foster children.  In addition they ran Maxine's Jr. Department Store for 10 ½ years.  During the 70's until about 2000, they bought, refurbished and sold antiques.  She couldn't pass up a rummage sale or nearby auction in search of the ultimate prize.

Dolls were her passion and she spent hours repairing and dressing porcelain and china antique dolls.  She was meticulous about her research and then sewing authentic period doll clothing.  She also sewed for her family and enjoyed costume design and creations for the Community Melodramas during Riverboat Days in Washburn.

Her community was important!  She was instrumental in starting Riverboat Days in Washburn, preserving the riverboat, THE SIOUX, and serving on the planning and zoning commission, co-chairing the Bicentennial Committee and serving as an EMT.  She advocated for a special education levy in McLean County (it passed) and generally volunteered wherever needed.  She was a member of the Washburn United Methodist Church and the United Methodist Woman.

After leaving Washburn, they lived in Falkirk, then Wilton, Hebron and Bismarck.  After Richard died in 2008, Maxine moved into assisted living and eventually into Augusta Place in 2010.  She continued to advocate for others wherever she lived.

Her children were her pride and joy.  She was especially proud that they went to college and got degrees. Her friends were also so important to her, she cherished each one and did she have stories to tell!

Maxine is survived by her children, Cindy (Clark) Renfrow, Mercer, ND, Richard (Norma) Schmit, Delta, Utah, Todd (Ivan) Schmit, Los Angeles, CA and Laura Schmit, Dickinson, ND; her grandchildren, Anna Welle, Angela Wilson, Amanda (Peter) Blais, Laura (Andrew) Wilkins, Richard Wm. Schmit, and Kinzlee Schmit; her great grandchildren, Jameson Welle, Mackenzie Welle, Elizabeth Blais, Anthony Blais, Roslyn Wilkins and Kensington Wilkins; her foster children, Ronald (Rhonda) Schaefer and Nancy Powell and her special friends, JoAnn Becker, Mary Smestad, Deb Stavn and Beverly Aichele; her niece and nephews, Richard Bender, Debbie Olson and Lowell Wood.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Richard; her sisters, Lorraine, Marilyn, Phyllis, and Ruth; a foster son, Bernell Reiser, and another special friend, Vivian Hanson.