Gregg Schmidt of House Springs is working to keep alive the memory of his wife, Jamie Schmidt, who was murdered in November 2018 at the Catholic Supply Store in the Ballwin area.
Jamie, who was 53 at the time of her death, was a talented artist, and a book featuring images of her paintings and other creations has been published and is being distributed as part of a fundraising campaign to benefit two local nonprofit organizations.
Gregg, 58, worked with the Steward Family Foundation to print 2,000 copies of “Jamie Schmidt: The Art of Her Love,” and he is asking for a $20 donation for the book. All the proceeds will be donated to the Open Door Animal Sanctuary in House Springs and the St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. Anthony of Padua Church in High Ridge, where Jamie was a member and where she and Gregg were married.
“We thought these (nonprofit groups) were the ones that she would like the most,” Gregg said. “We thought these were close to her heart.”
He said about 120 books have been sold so far, raising more than $2,000.
“We’re not keeping anything from it (the book),” he said.
Gregg said he already has donated about $1,000 to each of the nonprofit groups.
Dae Lyons, president of the St. Vincent de Paul Society at the St. Anthony of Padua Church in High Ridge, said he is impressed with the artwork in the book, and he appreciates the donations.
“It definitely helps the people in our area,” he said. “From 2019 to 2021, we had a 45 percent increase in the amount of money we help people with. So the money we got from Gregg, that is a godsend because that will pay a lot of Ameren bills and will pay a lot of rent.”
In addition to images of Jamie’s paintings, the book includes photos of rosaries she had crocheted, murals and other artwork she painted at her church and home, and a statue of St. Anthony she refurbished.
“Mostly, she just did it (created art) as gifts for people. She didn’t do it for money,” Gregg said. “She would have loved to eventually, but all this stuff in the book pretty much was either for her own benefit, or for somebody else.”
Gregg said Jamie always was painting or working on some piece of art.
“When she had a free moment, she was doing something,” he said. “We’d go on trips, and she’d have a crochet bag in the car.”
Gregg said the book of her art also has photos of the Garden of Eden she painted on a wall in their living room.
“So she spent over a year, not consistently but off and on, painting that,” he said.
How to get the book
Gregg will be at the Northwest Branch of the Jefferson County Library, 5680 Hwy. PP, in High Ridge, from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 19, to distribute copies of the book for a suggested donation of $20.
Copies of the book also may be found at the Open Door Animal Sanctuary, 6065 Duda Road, in House Springs and Pauline Books and Media, 9804 Watson Road, in Crestwood.
Gregg said copies of the book also are available at the Northwest Library Branch.
Two Northwest Lions
Gregg said he and his wife met in 1980 while the two were students at Northwest High School.
“It was my senior year, her junior year, and we dated pretty much most of that year,” he said.
Gregg is a 1981 Northwest High graduate, and Jamie graduated from Kirkwood High School after her family moved out of the Northwest district.
“Her heart was still a Northwest Lion, but she didn’t have a choice, unfortunately,” Gregg said.
He said Jamie started attending church with him while they were dating and later converted to Catholicism.
The pair married in 1990 and had three children together.
Gregg said for most of her adult life, Jamie was a stay-at-home mom, but not long before her death, she had begun working at the St. Louis Community College’s Wildwood campus.
Gregg said Jamie was also a wonderful singer.
“Going to church is rough sometimes because I still kind of hear her voice and expect to hear it right there next to me and I don’t,” he said.
Thomas Bruce, 56, of Imperial was sentenced in October to life in prison without the possibility of parole for murdering Schmidt and sexually assaulting two other women at the Catholic Supply store.