Lansing community pays homage to Alfreda Schmidt, icon and 'woman of 100 hats'
LANSING — Friends, family and numerous community members paid tribute Friday to the late Alfreda Schmidt, a former Lansing City Council member and an advocate whose legacy includes a south side community center named in her honor.
Schmidt, who was 97, served on Lansing City Council from 1981 to 1993, representing Ward 2 constituents on the city’s south side. She was also an Ingham County commissioner for four years and was a fixture on numerous city and community boards.
"Alfreda Schmidt was the embodiment of a servant. She lived an incredible life and dedicated so much of it to making Lansing a better place to live," Mayor Andy Schor said in a statement. "Alfreda loved Lansing, especially our veterans, and because of that, so many loved her. We will all miss her warmth, kindness, and her spirit."
Schmidt was instrumental in the widening of Cedar Street, the construction of an access road to the former Ingham Regional Medical Center, the Hawk Island playground and the Maplewood Women’s Shelter, among other community projects.
The city added her name to the Southside Community Center in 2012. A public tribute took place Friday at the Alfreda Schmidt Community Center, 5825 Wise Road.
Schmidt was also known for her signature hats. She had close to 100 of them and told the State Journal in 2017 that she had rarely, if ever, been seen in public without one.
Schmidt was the daughter of Ada and Alford Powelson of Dansville, an online obituary said, where she graduated high school in 1944. She attended the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Central Michigan University. In 1951, she married Frank Schmidt at St. Mary Cathedral in Lansing. They raised four children, Pamela (Arden) Heverly, James, William (Sandra), and Robert.
A Memorial Mass was scheduled at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, in Lansing, Saturday.
Schmidt was interred next to her husband at Fort Custer National Cemetery in Augusta.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing community pays homage to icon Alfreda Schmidt
