Anna Mae Schmoekel, 78, of Columbia City, Indiana, went home to be with her Lord on Saturday, October 3, 2026, at the Memory Care Unit at the Waters of Huntington. Born May 30, 1948, in Clinton, Iowa, Anna was the daughter of Merle and Carrie (Oster) Caraway. She grew up near Monmouth as one of eight children in a large farming family, and she remained proudly an Iowa girl throughout her life. She loved to remind people, with a smile, “Iowa—that’s where the tall corn grows.” Her upbringing gave her a lifelong love of family, the outdoors, and the simple wonder of things that grow. Anna graduated from Midland High School in 1966 and continued her education at the American Institute of Business in Des Moines. It was at her church in Monmouth that Anna met the love of her life, Lawrence Gene “Larry” Schmoekel, when he arrived as the new pastor. They married on December 18, 1970. But Anna became far more than a pastor’s wife. She and Larry became partners in ministry. That partnership would span nearly 56 years, leading them not only from one place to another, but to love one another more deeply and to love the Lord Jesus more with each passing year.

Their ministry together first took them to Rowley, Iowa, where they would welcome their two daughters, Krissy and Joy. Then, in 1976, their path led them across the Mississippi to Indiana, where they made their home in Columbia City. Their son, David, joined the family there. They served the First Presbyterian church and Trinity Presbyterian Church. In 1996 after 20 years, their path led them to partner in a new ministry at Brook Cherith Camp in Sand Lake Michigan. During that time, Anna would attend Reformed Bible College and graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

After their time in Michigan came to an end they would serve the loving congregation at Collins United Methodist Church.

Shortly after her dementia diagnosis, Larry would come to serve the wonderful people of Eberhard Lutheran Church. While Anna did not attend due to her progressing illness, her family is grateful for the Christlike care they showed to her through their love for Larry during this difficult time. Throughout her life, Anna sought to walk daily in the truth of her favorite verse, Psalm 119:105: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” And what a path it was. It was a path filled with children—children who came into her life through genetics, through church, through choice and chance, through Brook Cherith Camp, and through her career as an early childhood educator. How they came into her life never determined how deeply Anna loved them. She had a remarkable way of making children feel that they belonged to her, too. Wherever that path took her, Anna shared two of the great loves of her life: her love for the Lord and her wonder at His creation. She taught children to see both—to know the God who made them and to delight in the beautiful world He made around them. Anna devoted much of her working life to early childhood education, serving children at Churubusco Elementary School, the Head Start program in Fort Wayne, and Big Lake Church of God Preschool. Generations of children benefited from her care, teaching, encouragement, and faith. For Anna, teaching children was never simply a career; it was another expression of the ministry that marked her life. In the final years of Anna’s life, dementia slowly took many of her memories and, eventually, her recognition of many of the people she had loved. But there were two she never forgot: Larry and Jesus. And while dementia could take away her memories, it could not take away her loving heart. Even in the last days of her life, Anna continued to care for the people around her. Nurses, aides, doctors, fellow residents and visitors remarked again and again on her kindness, her concern for others, and the way she showed the love of the Lord to those around her. Even when she could no longer remember so much of the life she had lived, she continued to live out the faith that had shaped that life. Anna’s family is deeply grateful for the nurses, aides, doctors, and staff who cared for her in the dementia unit at the Waters of Huntington. They cared for Anna with tenderness, patience, dignity, and love and became an important part of her life and her family’s life during those final years. Their loving care will always be remembered with gratitude. Perhaps, in the end, this says as much about Anna as anything could. The words of Scripture had been a lamp to her feet and a light to her path for so many years that, even when the path became difficult and familiar things faded from view, she still knew whom she was following. Anna is survived by her husband of nearly 56 years, Lawrence “Larry” Schmoekel; her children, David (Jessie) Schmoekel of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Kristin Ropp of Columbia City, Indiana, and Joy (Glen) Gilraine of Gloucester, Massachusetts; 22 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren, with two more great-grandchildren on the way; her sisters, Shirley Langhurst, Judy (Kenneth) Braswell, and Mona (Mike) Knadle; her brothers, James Caraway and Donald Caraway; and many extended family members, friends, former students, church families, and others who were fortunate enough to find themselves somewhere along Anna’s path. She was preceded in death by her parents, Merle and Carrie Caraway; her sister, Clara Oberman; and her brother, Jack Caraway.

The funeral service is at 11 a.m. Wednesday (Oct 7th) at Eberhard Lutheran Church, 2360 W Keiser Rd, Columbia City. The burial is at Eberhard Cemetery, Columbia City. Visitation is 1 to 3 and 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday (Oct 6th) at Smith & Sons Funeral Home in Columbia City, and one hour before the service at the church.

Anna wasn’t perfect—none of us are. But she was really, really good. She was really, really godly. She loved the Lord, loved His Word, loved His creation, and loved the people He placed along her path. And she will be really, really missed. In keeping with two things Anna treasured throughout her life—God’s Word and the wonder of His creation—memorial gifts may be made to LifeWise Academy and Giving Gardens.