Larry V. Schmitz, 75, of Le Mars, passed away on Thursday, June 15, 2017 at Plymouth Manor Care Center in Le Mars. A time of visitation will begin at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, June 19, 2017 at the Mauer – Johnson Funeral Home in Le Mars. The family will be present from 5-7 p.m. with a prayer service scheduled at 7:00 p.m. Rev. Dr. Jean Ziettlow will officiate. Burial will take place on Wednesday, June 21, 2017 at the Kiron Cemetery.
Larry Vincent Schmitz was born in Cherokee, Iowa on February 7, 1942, the son of Vincent "Bud" and Marlyn (Larson) Schmitz. He grew up in Kiron, Iowa. Schmitz began his radio career during the summer of 1959 as a weekend disc jockey at KUDY in Littleton, Colorado. At the end of that summer he returned to complete his high school education in Denison, Iowa and worked as a part-time announcer at KDSN. He married Nola Kollbaum of Kiron on February 7, 1961. The couple had three children, Robert, Susan and David.
Larry returned to Denver and attended broadcasting school, after which he was hired as an announcer for Leadville, Colorado's KBRR and became that station's Program Director and served briefly as the station's General Manager.
He and his family returned to Iowa and moved to Le Mars in April of 1965 when he was hired as News Director at KLEM. He held that position for over four decades with the exception of a one-year stint as a general assignment reporter for KCAU TV in Sioux City in 1969. He later married and divorced Deborah (Halter) Crowley of Le Mars. While in semi-retirement, Schmitz worked from his home as a part-time reporter for KLEM before ending his association with the station in October of 2009.
Larry was honored with the Iowa Broadcast News Association's coveted "Jack Shelley Award" in 1980 and received numerous awards from the Associated Press. He was a long-time member of the Iowa Broadcast News Association and the National Radio and Television News Directors Association. He was invited to the White House twice for meetings with Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford. Larry also received the Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce 2007 President's Award.
Survivors include his children, a daughter, Susan of Detroit Lakes, MN; sons, Robert and David both of Omaha, NE; six grandchildren, three great-grandchildren; a sister, Patricia Blunk of Kiron, Iowa; and several nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; grandparents; and his first wife, Nola Berg.
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