Alma Louise Schmitz, 89, passed from this life surrounded by family on August 11, 2022, at Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

She was born on March 7, 1933, to Walter Allen Cope & Nellie Natalie Nisbett in Breese, Illinois. Alma was the seventh of eight children, all of whom as well as her grandson, Adam Schmitz, have preceded her in death.

Having grown up in Salem, Illinois, Alma attended Salem Community High School, where she met John Richard "Dick" Schmitz. Throughout her Junior and Senior year, they dated and played in the school band together. Soon after her graduation in 1951, Alma moved to Washington, D.C. to work at The Pentagon, while Dick, who was one year behind Alma, remained in Illinois to finish high school and attend college.

The two remained in contact via letters and telephone, and in 1954, Alma was offered the chance to transfer to the Chanute Air Force Base back in Illinois. "What do you think," she asked, to which Dick, after a brief pause, exclaimed "get on the bus!" She transferred in December of 1954 and worked there throughout the following year.

They were married on January 25, 1956, the anniversary of their first date, 6 years earlier. They moved to Tulsa in 1957 and nearly a decade later formed Irving Productions, a radio and television audio production company, which Dick & Alma ran for 46 years.

While her four sons were in school, she assisted in helping with their activities at the School of Saint Mary and Bishop Kelley High School. Her family has always been the center of her life. She loved watching her grandkids, and she was a constant and loving support to Dick's grandmother, Esthma Alderson, and to his aunt, Alice Schmitz.

Alma is survived by Dick; their four children, Paul (Janet), Mike (Sarah), Dan (Kay), and Tim. Also, Dick's sisters, Gretchen Schmitz and Karen Schmitz; grandchildren, Brandon, Cameron, Drake, Leigh (Armando), Meredith (James), Will, Maggie, Matt; great-grandchildren, Leo, James, Abby; and "bonus" great-grandchildren, Angel, Wilbert, Josie, Rihanna.

Special thanks to Kim Riegle, who has been Alma's caregiver these past 19 months.

Visitation will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, August 16, at Fitzgerald Southwood Colonial Chapel in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The following day, Wednesday, August 17, a Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. at the Church of Saint Mary in Tulsa.