M. Grace Schmidt

M. Grace Schmidt was born in Berlin in 1915. After a short teaching career, she joined the staff of the Kitchener Public Library (KPL) where she became a reference librarian and was Assistant Chief Librarian for seven years before her retirement in 1980. She was referred to as a “walking encyclopedia” and assisted many authors writing on local history; her contribution to raising its profile was recognized by KPL which named the Grace Schmidt Room of Local History in her honour in 1984.

Schmidt served the Waterloo Regional Heritage Foundation, the Waterloo Historical Society, the Joseph Schneider Haus, the Waterloo County Hall of Fame, the Red Cross, the Board and United Church Women of Zion United Church and the United Church Hamilton Conference archive’s committee.

Honours include the Outstanding Achievement Award for volunteerism given by the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Recreation (1995), the WRHF Award of Excellence (1991) and Kitchener-Waterloo Woman of the Year (1980). In 1999, Schmidt received an honorary Doctorate from the University of Waterloo, recognizing her contribution to the community.