Michael "Mike" J. Schmitz, age 52, of rural Elkhart Lake (St. Anna) passed away Monday, May 23, 2016 at St. Luke's Hospital in Milwaukee following a short illness. He was born August 11, 1963, to Judy (Sippel) Schmitz and the late Roger Schmitz. Mike graduated from Elkhart Lake High School in 1981. On September 7, 1985, he married Lisa Kraus at St. Joseph Catholic Church in St. Joe. Mike had worked at Kees Inc. in Elkhart Lake until he opened up his auto shop, Schmitz Auto Repair, in 1999. Mike was a life-time member of the Turkey Federation. He enjoyed camping, fixing almost anything and restoring his 1956 F100 pickup. He was mechanically inclined and enjoyed working on cars; Sunday cruises in his Mustang was something he looked forward to each week. Mike is survived by his wife, Lisa; his two children, Melissa Schmitz of Minneapolis, MN and Ryan (Natasha) Schmitz of Jacksonville, FL; his grand-daughter, Sofia; his mother, Judy Schmitz of rural Elkhart Lake; his sisters and brother, Margie (Donny) Dykstra of Elkhart, IN, Mary (Kevin) Krupp of Kiel, Marlene (Brian) Wilterdink of Oostburg and Mark (Renee) Schmitz of Kiel; his mother-in-law, Kathleen "Tootie" Kraus of New Holstein and her special friend, Merle Voelker; his sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, Linda (Steve) Schmitz of St. Anna, Deb (Tom) Pfeifer of West Bend, Chris (Pat) Simon of St. Joe, Kelly (Jamie) Ausloos of New Holstein, Brian (Teri) Kraus of Brillion and Brad Kraus of New Holstein; four Godchildren, Erica Davister, Adam Zorn, Cody Schmitz and Abbey Winkel; his four legged friends, Bailey and Vera. He is further survived by many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his father, Roger Schmitz and his father-in-law, Charles "Charlie" Kraus. Funeral Services will be held at 7:30 PM on Thursday, May 26, 2016, at the Sippel Funeral Home, 2618 Altona Avenue New Holstein, WI 53061. Deacon Pat Knier will preside. Visitation: Family and friends may call at the funeral home on Thursday from 2:00 PM until 7:00 PM. For additional information, please contact the Sippel Funeral Home in New Holstein (920) 898-4300 or visit www.sippelfuneralhome.net