Catherine Ray Obituary

On October 19th, Catherine Amy Schmidt Ray entered the gates of heaven and returned to the loving arms of her parents. She was the 8th and last child of Ray and Marie Schmidt, born on the plains in Dickinson, North Dakota. She grew up in Miles City, Montana, where her parents owned the Dairy Queen and she became one of the many "DQ Dollies."

Amy was a ferocious swimmer from a young age, winning many medals in freestyle and butterfly and spent her summers lifeguarding at the local swimming pool.

Like all the Schmidt children, Amy attended Sacred Heart Catholic School. There she was voted captain of the drill team and ran hurdles in track. She graduated at the top of her class in 1981 and continued on to Montana State University. She graduated from MSU in English with honors and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society. During the summers of her college years she worked as a photographer for a river-rafting company in Jackson, Wyoming.

After college she moved on to city life in the Dallas-Ft Worth, Texas, area. She wrote for a TV guide and enjoyed interviewing "the celebs" as she called them.

She spent a number of years as a textbook editor for Harcourt-Brace before becoming an independent editing contractor.

It was in Texas where she met and married her husband, Michael Ray. Although they did not have children, they shared a love of animals and any strays that crossed their paths immediately had a home. Amy and Mike traveled and enjoyed the beauty of many places such as Hawaii, Alaska, Mexico, Canada, Italy, and Greece. They also enjoyed visiting family often.

Amy was met in heaven by her parents, Ray and Marie Schmidt. She left her stories and memories here on earth to be told by her husband, Mike, and her siblings Ray and Terri Schmidt, Cindy and Kevin Klein, Mary and Steven Kincaid, Rita Atkinson, Lucy and Dana Kruse, Tom and Penny Schmidt, and Julie and Nick Grubich, along with her many nieces and nephews.

Amy, you could sing like an angel and serenade the heavens with your piano playing. You were a daughter, a wife, a sister, and an aunt. Although the devastating cancer took your life it could not take your spirit from us. We love you beyond measure. Rest in peace.

Funeral services will be in Fort Worth, Texas, on Tuesday, October 29, 2024, at Roberts-Martinez Funeral Home, Haltom City, Texas. Amy will be buried at St. Edwards Cemetery in Fayette, ND close to her parents mid 2025.