Former Coalville Mayor Duane Schmidt has died. He was 60 years old.
Duane Scott Schmidt was elected twice to the mayor’s office in Coalville.
According to his obituary, he passed away peacefully on Thursday, August 26. Earlier this summer, he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer which spread aggressively, despite a major surgical procedure he underwent in Arizona in late July.
Schmidt was born in Baltimore, Maryland in July of 1961 and was a lifelong fan of the Baltimore Orioles and Baltimore Ravens. He was an entrepreneur from the age of 18, and after moving to Coalville was known as the proprietor of Humpty Dumpsters.
He was elected mayor in 2005 and again in 2009.
Coalville City Attorney Sheldon Smith remembered working with him a great deal.
“He was a very, very hardworking fellow. He worked at his full-time job with Humpty Dumpsters, and then was the mayor and had other things going on. But I guess the thing that really stands out is his integrity and honesty with people. He was not a typical politician. He was very honest, and when he said something, you could take it to the bank. He did a lot of things, he had a lot of projects in Coalville, and he had a couple of parks, one a skatepark and one a little pocket park on Main Street that he spent some time with. He was very devoted and dedicated to it.”
Schmidt resigned in the fall of 2013, just a few months short of finishing his second term, because he was moving out of town to settle in the St. George area.
In the municipal election that year, he was succeeded by current Mayor Trevor Johnson.
“He was a great man and he did a lot of good things for Coalville. He was actually instrumental in my running for office. He called me up and asked me to run and we had a long conversation about it and supported me through the campaign process. So I appreciated that. He had some good counsel and guidance for me in the first few years that I was mayor. We shared a lot of ideals. He was pro-growth and opportunity and I kind of learned from him and felt like I continued on as best I could with the vision he had.”
Schmidt is survived by both parents, his wife, three children, a granddaughter and two siblings.
Schmidt did not ask for a service or a memorial. His family indicated that, at his request, they will come together next summer for a swim party and a barbecue.
