Earl C. Schmidt, Jr. passed away on February 9, 2026, at the age of 86. He was born and raised in St. Louis and graduated from Washington University with a degree in accounting. In 1967 he married Marianne Percy and together they owned and operated the Party Pastry Shop bakery for 40 years. His passion was always baking, and he continued to do that even in his retirement years. He was an accomplished pianist and loved music.

He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Marianne Schmidt. He is also survived by his children Walter (Pamela) Schmidt, Anne (Michael) Noonan, Andrew (Laurie) Schmidt and Elizabeth Schmidt. He was blessed with 13 grandchildren: Patrick (Amanda) Schmidt, Kathryn (Aran) McMurtray, Shannon Noonan (deceased), Sarah Noonan, Theresa Noonan, Michael Noonan, Jr., Matthew Noonan, Ava Schmidt, Helena Schmidt, Hayden Schmidt, Colleen Thompson, Christopher Thompson, Megan Thompson and 2 great-grandchildren: Ryan Schmidt and Kennedy Schmidt. He is also survived by his sister Marilyn Torbert and preceded in death by his brother Robert Schmidt.

Services: A memorial gathering will be held at the SCHRADER Funeral Home and Crematory, 14960 Manchester Road at Holloway, Ballwin, Saturday, February 21, 2026 from 9:30  a.m. until time of Funeral service at 11:30 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Blood Cancer United (give.bloodcancerunited.org) . Friends may sign the family's on-line guestbook at Schrader.com.