Elva J. Schmidt, 84

August 10, 2022

Elva J. Schmidt (née Gates) of Marlton, NJ, passed away on August 10, 2022, after a long illness.

Elva was born on June 20, 1938 in Colver, PA to David and Awilda Gates. She graduated from Ebensburg High School in 1956 and moved to Philadelphia to work for Bell Telephone. She quickly rose through the ranks to supervisor and was featured in a number of Bell Telephone advertisements. She married Charles E. Schmidt Sr. on June 22, 1963, and Elva and Chuck settled in Oaklyn, NJ. She was very active as a Girl Scout leader for Troop 29 for over 10 years, a Sunday School teacher at Oaklyn and Collingswood Baptist Churches, and was a nursery schoolteacher for years. After Chuck’s death, she went to work for NADE, where she again quickly rose through the ranks to become head of HR.

After her retirement she traveled all over the country with her friends, her brother Harold and his wife Paulette and her sister June. She was a 50-year member of Collingswood #150/Haddonfield #140 Order of the Eastern Star and was a Past Grand Officer and Past Worth Matron. She was an avid knitter, and everyone in the family has at least one pair and usually many more, of her famous slippers. She loved her Phillies, and like all Phillies fans, watching them brought her great joy and great frustration. Above all, she loved spending time with her family, and she loved to bake and do crafts with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was happiest when her family was together.

She is preceded in death by her parents, David and Awilda (Oshall) Gates, her husband Charles Schmidt, Sr., brothers William Gates, David Gates and Jay Gates and sister June Tullos.

She is survived by her sons Charles Schmidt (Lori), Dale Schmidt (Carol) and David Schmidt (Lesley) and daughter Judy Batenburg (Rich). She was the proud grandmother to Steven Schmidt (Beth), Matthew Schmidt, Rick Batenburg, Alyssa Florio (Sam), Lindsey Rodriguez (Andrew), Leigh Brown (Tom), Alexis Flynn (Ryan), Alex Nemeth and Elizabeth Batenburg, and proud great grandmother to Jacob and Lucas Schmidt, Graham Flynn and Riley Rodriguez.

A memorial service will be held at 10am on September 3, 2022, at the First Baptist Church of Collingswood. Blue was her favorite color, so please wear any shade of blue to the memorial service. Interment will be in Beaver Valley Cemetery, Flinton, PA. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory can be sent to the New Jersey Eastern Star Home 111 Finderne Ave Bridgewater Township, NJ 08807.