Edith Schultz

Edie (Edith) Schultz of Otsego, MN (formally of Osseo, MN) went home to the Lord on September 8, 2025.

Edie was born in Goessel, KS on December 1, 1946 to Alvin and Ethlyn Goertz. She was the first of four children, as David, Grace and Becky completed the family. She grew up in Lehigh, KS where she spent a lot of time with cousins, neighbors and friends. Edie graduated as valedictorian of her Lehigh class, and then attended Bethel College where she earned her bachelor’s degree.  Upon college graduation, she taught 7th and 8th grade English in Haven, KS for 9 years.

During those teaching years, she had the opportunity to do some traveling, and often talked fondly about those experiences. One summer she spent in Chicago working for a family as a nanny, and her sister (Grace) and mother (Ethlyn) wrote many letters back and forth with her, recounting the adventures Edie was having and life in Lehigh. Another summer, Edie chose to take a trip to Majorca, Spain through a teaching organization. That trip was a highlight of her years as a single woman, and she often told stories about the things she saw and experienced there. 

In the summer of 1975, she traveled to MN to visit her sister Grace, who had recently married Gary Hagen. While visiting them, she met a friend of theirs, Vern Schultz, while watching Gary and Vern play in a tennis match.  Vern casually asked when she was going to come visit again, and the following summer when Edie visited, they reconnected at a softball game and that spark grew into love. They began dating during the summer of 1976, and were married on June 4, 1977. After a honeymoon in the Black Hills of South Dakota, they settled into a duplex in NE Minneapolis for a year, until they bought the house in Osseo where they lived for 45 years. 

Vern and Edie began a family and welcomed Amanda in 1980, followed by Brent 2 years later. Edie worked for Real Estate 10 for the first few years of their marriage, balancing work and home life. After Brent was born, she shifted towards a different career, and began to work at New Hope Preschool as a Pre-k teacher.  She worked at the preschool for 23 years, and that allowed her to be present with her children when they were at home, and the ability to be involved in many other areas of life. Edie loved to garden- both growing flowers and vegetables. There were always beautiful flowers all around their home, and the garden had tomatoes, green beans, peas, and rhubarb every year. She was also very involved with New Hope Mennonite Brethren Church- singing in the choir, working in the church nursery, and even working with Grace to put on a weeklong VBS for the children in the church. 

While raising a family, Vern and Edie spent summers taking their children camping with many different friends and families.  They had a goal to go to as many state parks in MN as they could, and while they didn’t get to them all, they made it to quite a few. Many holidays were spent with family, whether that was traveling to Kansas to see her sister Becky and family, Arizona to visit her brother David, or to visit Vern’s family. Vern and Edie also had the opportunity to take several big trips, and visited France, Hawaii, Australia/New Zealand and took a cruise to the Bahamas. 

Edie was an expert seamstress, and loved to sew and quilt. She was often working on a project for someone else. She made quilts for each of her grandchildren, made and donated several quilts to Mennonite Central Committee for their relief sales, sewed bags for school kits to be sent to families in need, and in her younger years, even made most of her own clothing. She loved to play games (especially with her grandchildren) and spent countless hours with family playing cards, Rummikub and Upwords.  Edie often called her sister Becky on the phone, and worked hard to remain connected to her family despite the miles between them. 

In recent years, Edie never missed an opportunity to travel to see her grandchildren and would light up whenever talking about them or spending time with them. She loved to watch them perform in any way they could- whether on a sports field or a stage. They delighted her, and she was very proud of them. Vern and Edie sold their Osseo house in 2023 and moved to Otsego.

Edie is survived by Vern Schultz, her husband of 48 years, daughter Amanda (Paul) Bartel, grandchildren Micah, Silas, Salem, and Norah, all of Kansas City, MO, and son Brent (Melissa) Schultz of Osseo, MN.  

A memorial service for Edie will be on October 18, 2025 at 11:00am at Emmanuel Mennonite Church, located at 1744 Walnut St. St. Paul, MN 55113. A private inurnment will follow. In lieu of flowers, memorials preferred to Mennonite Central Committee  www.mcc.org