Pauline Harms

Pauline Schmidt was born April 3, 1930 to Emil A. & Eva (Teske) Schmidt in their home at Lustre, Montana and passed away on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 at 6:00AM and Corn Heritage Village at the age of 82 years, 2 months and 24 days. When Pauline and her twin brother Paul were born they were placed in an apple box and kept warm by setting the apple box on the open oven door. The Midwife that delivered the twins (Mrs. Baker) did not have the best of hearing and when she asked the name for the babies, for the birth certificates, their mother, Eva said “Pauline” and “Paul” - but Mrs. Baker wrote “Paulena”. This error was corrected at a later date. Mom was the middle of 10 children born to Emil and Eva Schmidt. She accepted Christ on August 22, 1943 – at the age of 13 - and was baptized by Rev. P. P. Wiens , in Montana. She was a member of the Luster EMB Church. Pauline spent her childhood in Montana & attended grade school at Center Bell Country School and attended High School for two years at Lustre Christian School (curriculum was Bible Classes only). Then Pauline and Paul attended Glasgow High School (while they lived in a garage apartment they rented from the Neufelds). Pauline’s father and another man in the community sought out how to get Lustre Bible School accredited – the name then changed to Lustre Bible Academy and Pauline attended there for her final three years of High School & Bible classes. Pauline and her twin brother, Paul, were in the Second Graduating Class of Lustre Bible Academy in May 1950. In one of the prophesies for Pauline’s class it was stated “….we visit a Missionary in the Belgian Congo. The little missionary is telling boys and girls of Jesus. Could it be anyone else but (Paulena) Pauline Schmidt!” Mother did not physically go to the Belgian Congo – but she prayed daily for missionaries overseas by name including their children. If you would look at her favorite Bible you would see that the pages are worn and tearing. She was a good example of how serious one should be in their Bible reading. She read through the Bible many times. July of 1950 Pauline met Ogen Jacob Harms at Bessie, OK - who was Driving Truck out of Premont, TX at the time. On September 29, 1950 Pauline married Ogen J. Harms at Lustre, MT. They made their first home in Cordell, OK and shortly after moved to Clinton, OK. Later they moved to a farm 1 ½ miles north & ½ mile west of the Henry Harms Family Farm – where their first daughter, Margaret Ann was born. 1 year later they moved to the Henry Harms Family Farm (known as the Corn Bat Caves Farm) where their second daughter Linda Sue was born. Pauline was received into the Corn MB Church on November 7, 1950 by Rev. J. P. Kliewer. Pauline was a Housewife, Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother & Great Great Grandmother, Sunday School Teacher, Quilt maker, had an Upholstery Business, gardened & preserved food for her family, drove tractor, combine, milked cows, and rode the occasional run-away horse, she was a dietician at Corn Bible Academy (which required Dietician College Classes which she completed). She volunteered at the EtCetra Shop and with Mennonite Disaster Service & Mennonite Central Committee, she worked at Tena’s Coffee Shop and at Corn Heritage Village. She always had an interest in art – and although she never took an art class the artist in her came out in the quilt patterns and quilts that she designed and made . Mom retired in - well here is where you would say she retired – but for those of you who know Mom (Pauline) she never retired until she was unable to care for herself. If you ask her daughters they can tell you some of the special things she enlisted their help with to make for the children for Wednesday Night Church at the Corn Mennonite Brethren Church. Easter was our favorite. Mom (Pauline) would buy Milkyway candy bars and make crosses for each child and decorate them with frosting vines & flowers. They were then placed on cardboard pieces covered with aluminum foil and covered in saran wrap. These were all taken to church on the Wednesday before Easter and each child received one – every year that our mother directed children’s group. If you ask her three grandchildren what comes to mind when they think of Grandma Harms: Jeremy remembers she ran everywhere and made the best potato salad. Heather remembers that when the telephone would ring or someone came to the door she would jump up and run to get it. Amber would say she remembers her “running” around the house. If we were sitting for meal and anyone needed anything – she would jump up and at a running pace get the item and return to the table at that same pace. When it was time for family birthday celebrations – Mom would make a yellow angel food cake, from scratch, with white sticky icing. Mom loved music and would sing as she worked. She encouraged her daughters and grandchildren to make music a part of their life – whether it was vocal or instruments. Vacations were filled with singing choruses learned in church and munching on grapes, carrot sticks and celery as we drove down the road looking at scenery. All of this prepared and directed by Mom. Her gift to the world is her art in the form of love, family, friends and her quilts. She instilled in us to know what we believe – not based on what she told us – but on what we knew the Bible to say. Both of our parents instilled in us the importance of a right relationship with the Lord, Daily Devotions, Church Work, helping others, a strong work ethic and the value of family and friends, memories and fun. She always taught us that in life there will be those jobs/chores that you don’t like to do and those that you enjoy – do the ones you don’t like first and then do the ones you enjoy. Every summer gardening and preserving were times of life’s lessons and fun – like the corn silk making a great mustache. (Mom got that one from her father.) Or, maybe it would be the “green bean song”. Pauline is preceded in death by her husband Ogen J. Harms, her parents Emil & Eva (Teske) Schmidt. Four brothers: Pete Schmidt, Andy Schmidt, Jacob Schmidt, Paul Schmidt and one sister Clara (Schmidt) Schmidt, Two sisters-in-law; Helen (Martin) Schmidt and Pearl (Quiring) Schmidt, Two Brothers-in-law; Orval Schmidt and Larry Davis. She is also preceded in death by One Great Granddaughter: Jessica Schultz and several Nieces & Nephews. Pauline is survived by two daughters: Margaret Ann (Schultz) Adams & husband James Gene Adams of Clinton, OK and Linda Sue Martin & husband Tony Lynn Martin of ElDorado Springs, MO. Six Grandchildren: Jeremy J. Schultz of Clinton, OK, M. Shane Adams of Clinton, OK, Jimmie L. Adams of Clinton, OK, Justin G. Adams of Clinton, OK, Heather R. Harrington and husband Dale of Oklahoma City, OK, Amber C. Lewis of ElDorado Springs, MO. She is also survived by twelve Great Grandchildren; Jordan, Jarret & Jaxson Schultz, Felicity Harrington, Austin Hayden, Taylor Lewis, Christopher & Noami Barron, Michael, Timothy , Jimmy and Bryce Adams. One Great Great Grandchild: Liliana Castaneda. Two brothers; George Schmidt & wife Gladys of Eureka IL, Emil Schmidt & wife Evelyn of Sweeney TX, Two sisters; Carolyn Fauth & husband Ralph of Glasgow MT , and Annie Davis of Corn OK, One sister-in-law Elfie Schmidt of Walnut Creek CA, and a host of family and friends. Memorials may be made to: Corn Bible Academy, Western Oklahoma Christian School, Bible Baptist Academy and Russell-Murray Hospice, Inc.. “Precious memories of life can temper the profound sadness of death.”