Schmidt Monument Works

      It started by pure fate. I was 15 years old, working for a contractor in my home town of Minneapolis, Kansas. We were building a laundry mat for a man named Frank. Now Frank liked the way I worked, and first asked if I would help him finish the flooring in the laundry mat and install the machines. Then I helped him on weekends mopping floors at the hospital. Frank also sold tombstones through a business called Robertson monuments in Minneapolis, and needed help setting the monuments in the cemetery.  It just so happens that he bought his carved stones from a man in Hays. And this is where it all started.

In 1988 I started school at Fort Hays State University and Frank recommended me for employment at Schmidt Monument Works who carved his stones. I worked for about a year while going to school. School didn't seem right for me at that time, so I took a job with an engineering outfit from Salina. I traveled the United States with them for the next five years and ended up in Los Angeles, where I met my wife Martha, and witnessed my first child being born.

Raising a child in Los Angeles was scary to say the least, so we packed up and moved back to Hays. I started School again and worked for Larry at Schmidt monuments and also at the Hays medical Center. I graduated Fort Hays with a BA in Psychology, and off to Colorado I went with four children and my wife.

We raised our children from there the next 14 years, while I worked for two monument companies in Colorado Springs and the Black Forest. Until one day when I got a call from Larry asking, “Do you want to buy the business?” And I said yes. At the current time I was laid off for the first time in my life and did not know what I was going to do. This seemed like the perfect opportunity. I came back to Hays in March of 2012 with no money and worked for Larry until Jan. 8th. And that’s when I took over the business. And here I am: New Owner Old Friend.

Over the 18 years that I have worked in this industry I have been taught by many people. Each one of them fills a place in my heart in one way or another. By combining the knowledge I have gained, I have developed my own techniques and standards. Many of my standards came from the old style of workmanship, “make it so it lasts”. Monuments are meant to last for lifetimes. When I create a monument, I personally feel an honor for doing so. This is why I continue the “To Honor A Lifetime For Life For Lifetimes To Come”

My wish is that I can make your experience as pleasant and informational as possible so that you can make the best decision, for your honoring of a Lifetime .