A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
Gail S. (Greniger) Schmidt, 88, of Cloquet passed away Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025. She was born April 11, 1937, to George and Carnetha (Westby) Greniger and grew up in Chisholm. She attended Chisholm High School, graduating with the class of 1955. Then she attended Hibbing Junior College, followed by Bemidji State College and a degree in elementary education in 1959.
The Jefferson Elementary School in Hibbing was just opening, and she was hired to teach fourth grade. After teaching there for four years, she married George Schmidt and moved to Cloquet. In September of 1963 she began teaching fifth-graders at Leach School and continued at Washington and Cloquet Middle School, retiring in 1993 after 30 years.
In 1967, the Schmidts moved to Scanlon and resided there until December of 2022, when Gail moved to Diamond Willow Assisted Living.
Gail was involved with numerous organizations including the Cloquet Education Association, Alpha Delta Kappa, the Cloquet Bouquet Garden Club, Chapter 104 of Mended Hearts, the Lutheran Brotherhood board, and Zion Lutheran Church.
Gail and her husband had “gypsy feet” and did a lot of traveling, especially all the 50 states, including many state capitals. In 1994 they began spending the winter months at Paradise RV Resort in Sun City, Arizona.
Gail was preceded in death by her husband, George Schmidt (2006); parents, George and Carnetha “Toots” Greniger; brother, Michael Greniger; mother and father in-law, Carl and Cecelia Schmidt; paternal grandparents, John and Ella Greniger; and maternal grandparents, Elof and Randy Westby.
She is survived by numerous cousins and loved ones.
The family would like to thank everyone at Diamond Willow that cared for Gail while she lived there and St. Croix Hospice for their support and care of Gail over the past months. We will miss Gail so much.
In lieu of flowers, please direct memorials to the Cloquet Educational Fund (302 14th St. Cloquet, MN).
Visitation for Gail will be at 10 a.m. until the 11 a.m. funeral service on Friday, Aug. 29 at Zion Lutheran Church in Cloquet. A lunch reception will follow in the church social hall. Interment will be at Maple Hill Cemetery in Hibbing at a later date.
Arrangements by Nelson Funeral Care.
