It is with great sadness that the family of Louise Marie (Winkel) Schmitz of St. Cloud announces her passing on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2018. She was born November 3, 1935, in Ada, Wisconsin to Mathew & Olive (Raeder) Winkel. Louise graduated from Kiel High School in 1953 and attended Sheboygan County Teachers College. She completed her education at Marian College. She was proud of her teaching experiences that started in a one room school house and continued through her years in second grade classrooms at New Holstein Elementary School. On July 13, 1957, she married John Schmitz at St. Ann Catholic Church in St. Anna. Louise will be remembered for her love of children, bowling, and needlework. She was a member of St. Isidore Parish-St. Cloud Church where she sang in the choir and also belonged to the Christian Women's Society. She was a loyal fan of the Kiel Municipal Band; of which her husband has been a member for 70 years. Louise will be lovingly remembered by her husband of 61 years, John; her two daughters, Lori (Tom) Klotz of St. Cloud and Sara (Brad) Hastings of Lomira; her grandchildren, Katie (Nathan) Peterson, Michael (Emily) Klotz, Anna Hastings, and Jonathan Hastings; great-granddaughters, Marie Louise Peterson and Cecilia Emily Klotz. She is further survived by her brother, Math Winkel Jr.; her twin sister and best friend, Lois (James) Penkwitz; sisters-in-law, Alyce Winkel and Jean Wick; her brother-in-law, Don Schmitz; nieces; nephews; other relatives; and many friends. Preceding her in death were her parents; her brothers, Earl and Robert (Kathleen) Winkel; sister-in-law, Berniece Winkel; brothers-in-law, James Penkwitz and Wayne Schmitz; and a niece, LouAnn (Wick) Schramm. A Liturgy Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, December 28, 2018, at St. Isidore Parish-St. Cloud Church, 924 Main Street, St. Cloud, WI 53079. Rev. Richard Mirsberger, Louise's cousin, and Rev. Gary Wegner, OFM Cap. will concelebrate. Louise will be laid to rest in the St. Cloud Catholic Cemetery following the mass. Visitation: Family and friends may visit with the family at the Sippel Funeral Home, 1311 Thorp Street, St. Cloud on Thursday, December 27th from 4:00 PM until 7:00 PM. Visitation will also be at the funeral home Friday morning, December 28th from 9:00 AM until 10:30 AM. Louise's family would like to thank the staff at the Villa Loretto Nursing Home in Mount Calvary and the Agnesian Hospice nurses for their support and patience in the care of Louise while she suffered through the difficult disease of dementia. For further details, please contact the Sippel Funeral Home in St. Cloud (920) 999-2291 or visit www.sippelfuneralhome.net.