Tom Schmidt's Legacy

My brother, Tom Schmidt, was born with Down Syndrome in 1957. Our family loved and nurtured him so he could become all that God envisioned. Tom graduated from the special education program at Shawnee Mission North High School. His education equipped him to enter the workforce, and he worked for 30 years in the food services industry. Our family was so proud of the caring service he gave to others.

His employers were appreciative of his dependability and recognized the value he brought. Tom lived with our parents during his lifetime and was able to save his earnings. Upon his death in 2010, I was entrusted with this gift. I wanted to honor my brother and began to pray for God to show me a suitable way to establish his legacy.

I learned of Matthew’s Ministry at Church of the Resurrection and felt God was showing me how to best memorialize Tom. Our family was unaware of this program, so Tom never experienced the care and fellowship of Matthew’s Ministry. My heart knew he would have loved being part of it. Accepting God’s direction, my sons and I created a Matthew’s Ministry Endowment Fund with Tom’s bequest.

Our prayer is that Tom’s legacy will inspire others to add to this fund so that it will continue long into the future to be a living example of God’s love for all his children.

— Susan Hustead