Leona Mary Schmitter (Coats) was called home to be with Jesus on January 13th, 2026. To greet her at the pearly gates will be Arnold Schmitter, her husband, who beat her to heaven in December of 2020, along with daughter Brenda Bissell and son Wayne Bissell. Leona waved goodbye, leaving behind her sons, her eldest, David Bissell of Millington, Randy Bissell of Mount Morris, and Clifford DuVernois of Millington. She is survived by numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren if you can believe that. She is also survived by three siblings, Dora Coats Hazelwood (Spring Hill, Tennessee), Thelma Coats Weeks (Mesa, Arizona), and Jerry Coats and his wife Audrey (Chesaning, Michigan).

Leona was born on November 30th, 1935 to Clifford Coats and Isabel (Hanks) Coats, who took God’s command seriously to “be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth.” One of fourteen children, she grew up in a time when extra help on the farm was needed; it was far cheaper to have another child than hire someone. With that many siblings, Leona became very popular at the annual family reunion, where she brought each sibling a homemade pie with their favorite fruit. And because Leona considered Crisco to be a food group, everyone agreed that her crust was the best crust ever.

Leona’s two favorite sayings were “I doubt it” and “I don’t know about that,” the latter of which is listed as her favorite saying next to her photo in the 1952 Vassar High School yearbook. She seemed to take particular delight in inventing unique ways of saying “no” without actually saying “No.” The closest she came to saying “yes” was, “I don’t see why not.” If none of this made sense to you, you clearly didn’t grow up in her household. It was confusing.

Leona loved Jesus, going to church, and strawberry shakes. As a matter of fact, she was probably a card-carrying member of Team Jesus since birth. Whenever the phone rang, she always answered, “Praise the Lord!” which led to some interesting conversations with spam callers.

Her favorite pastimes included watching Gunsmoke, inventing things to worry about, and playing the piano, something she did most of her life. She had every church hymn memorized. After 80 years of playing the hymns again and again, you’d have them memorized, too.

On January 21st, 1981, after a long courtship, Arnold figured out how to turn his world-famous homemade ice cream into a strawberry shake to ask Leona to marry him. She said “I don’t see why not.” It’s unclear whether she meant yes to the marriage proposal or the strawberry shake. In any case, they were married for almost 40 years, sharing many adventures, including extended road trips all across the United States.

Leona took her commitments seriously. She was a member of Vision Pointe Assembly of God before it was Vision Pointe, before it was even a church. As the church piano player for over 30 years, she braved many winter storms, ice-covered roads, and white-outs to be at church. If the church was open, she was there. She said the only thing that would stop her was if the rapture happened. Even losing her eyesight didn’t stop her from plunking away at the keys.

Leona’s final years were peppered with happy moments. One of her favorites came when her doctor told her that at the age of 87, she could eat anything she wanted. What followed was a steady diet of pizza, ice cream sandwiches, and, you guessed it, strawberry shakes. After putting on a few pounds, Leona considered giving up the one cheese stick she ate with her lunch. When it was suggested she stop having so many strawberry shakes, she replied, “I don’t know about that,” and kept on gulping them down.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Human Development Corporation in Caro, Michigan. Their services were a tremendous help to both Leona and Arnold Schmitter, including home-delivered meals and other support that allowed them to remain at home longer. Donations may be made at hdc-caro.org.

Leona’s final performance will be held at Vision Pointe AOG, located at 9444 Dodge Road in Otisville, Michigan, on Friday, January 23rd, 2026. Visitation will begin at 10:00 AM with the service scheduled for 11:00 AM. Bring your favorite memory and your own strawberry shake.

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Leona and her family are in the care of Hanlin Funeral Home - Millington. Address: 4823 Main Street, Millington, MI 48746. Phone (989) 871-4591.

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