A Lifetime of Service: George & Susan Schmidt

ABOVE: George Schmidt (third from the right) and the 2004 Lifewater board of directors

For more than 43 years, Lifewater has been providing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene to families living in extreme poverty. This work isn’t possible without lifelong partners like George and Susan Schmidt.

On Saturday, April 11th, George went home to be with the Lord. George’s wife Susan, passed away in January of 2017. The Schmidts were partners in the ministry of Lifewater for more than 25 years, serving Christ and his people with hearts of love.

George and Susan were actively involved in ministry at an orphanage in Romania in the late 1990’s when they became acutely aware of the need for safe water at one particularly large orphanage. Susan reached out to Bill Ashe and was instrumental in arranging for Lifewater International to drill a much-needed well at the orphanage; the well still provides life-saving water to vulnerable children today.

Throughout the years, the Schmidts became more involved in Lifewater. George served on Lifewater’s board of directors from 2004 to 2008, where he provided leadership on board policy, finance, and governance. From their own international ministry experiences, George and Susan recognized that safe water was a catalyst for changing lives both physically and spiritually, as safe water ministers deeply and transforms hearts through the “living water” of Jesus Christ.

In 2017, in honor of Susan’s memory and the service they both have so generously given, Lifewater presented the Schmidts with the William A. Ashe Lifetime of Service award.

Also in 2017, George helped facilitate the shipping of Lifewater’s first-ever drill rig, named “Bill the Drill” after Lifewater founder William A. Ashe. Pat Klever, Lifewater’s Senior Technical Advisor at the time, tells the story:

“Knowing that George owned a large international shipping business, I called him when we were ready to ship Bill the Drill,” she explained. “He immediately jumped into action and started calling his contacts and really got things rolling. He and I worked on the shipping details together for several weeks; it was a huge task and we had FUN doing it! He was thrilled to be able to help Lifewater once again, especially in his area of expertise.”

We are incredibly grateful to George and Susan Schmidt. And while we mourn their passing, we rejoice in knowing they are both alongside the Father in heaven hearing “well done good and faithful servant.”