Catherine "Betty" C. (Clark) Schmidt

Catherine C. “Betty” Schmidt, 87, of Barrington, passed away August 4, 2021 after a short struggle with pancreatic cancer. She was born June 2, 1934, in Chicago to Osa Leonard and Dorothy “McComas” Clark.

Catherine Elizabeth Clark married John Thomas Schmidt on April 19, 1959 at First United Methodist Church in Park Ridge. Betty and Tom were married for 52 wonderful years before his passing in June of 2011.  They enjoyed doing everything together, most especially reading, traveling, and photography.

In 1956, Betty received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Iowa Wesleyan University in Mt. Pleasant, IA, and upon graduation, worked at the Illinois Institute of Baking in Chicago. From 1958 until she retired in 1993, Betty worked for the City of Park Ridge and was Finance Director for 29 years.  She was active in the Illinois Governmental Finance Officers Association where she served as President.  From 1995 through 2007, she donated her time as a tax counselor for the AARP Tax Aide for the Elderly Program.

In her retirement, Betty studied oil painting and participated in many art events throughout the McHenry County area.  She became an accomplished artist of nearly 700 paintings, and exhibited her art in numerous galleries throughout Wisconsin and Illinois.  Betty was on the board of Oil Painters of America for 12 years during a time in which it grew from 300 to over 3600 members.  She served in various roles over that time, including that of President.

Betty is survived by her sisters-in-law, Joan (Schmidt) Dee of Lake Geneva and Susanne (Schmidt) Klebbe of Cary; nephew,  David Winters of Encinidas, CA; nine additional nieces and nephews; and ten great-nieces and great-nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Tom; mother, Dorothy Clark; sister, Marilyn Winter; niece Nancy Neglia; and nephew, Ed Dee.

Betty led a life of giving to her husband, family, friends and community, and she will be deeply missed by all who were fortunate to know her.

The memorial service will be held at 11:00 am on Friday, August 13th, at the Barrington United Methodist Church, with a time of visitation starting at 10:00 am.  To watch the service via livestream, please visit http://vimeo.com/dobelivechurch .

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org.

Please visit www.davenportfamily.com to leave an online condolence for the family, or call 815-459-3411 for more information.