In Memory of Gary Schmidt (12/29/1949 - 3/3/1982)

Well, here goes.Gary was born 12-29-1949. Many people who new Gary called him a visionary. It was true...he always had great idea's of ways to succeed and keep ahead of the game.He skipped 2 grades in grade school,because he was not challenged enough. Graduated from Guilford High School in Rockford,ILL.at age 16. He was in a foreign exchange program and spent part of junior year in Germany. He later went on to ILL State University. He did go back to Germany to live a year sometime thereafter. He loved Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Amsterdam. He then came back and lived in Durango, Colorado for a while. He loved mountains with a passion. We met when he came back to his home town of Rockford Il. We got married Feb.5Th 1972. He had a accounting degree from school, but was not using it yet. He was working with disabled and emotionally disturbed kids at Singer Zone Center in Rockford when we met. He liked helping these kids...he had a huge heart. On a day off he would use his own time to take one the kids for the day with us doing whatever..... He always took music to work ....a stack of albums and played them for the kids. They loved it. It brought many of them out of their shells. And so the Dream of owning a record store began. A small store by the name of COOP TAPES and RECORDS opened in Rockford. It was a little whole in the wall but very bohemian and cool. He contacted the owner in Peoria IL and started negotiation for us to open one of our in Beloit WI. We did that in 1974 and in a year or so in Janesville and later on purchased the Rockford store. The chain had grown to 27 stores and we owned 3. It fulfilled his love of music. Gary ran the Janesville store and I ran the Beloit store and a very close friend of ours managed the Rockford store. We even got into business of selling concert tickets for all the big venues and big acts,we were the major ticket outlet then and out of this got to see a lot of acts and go backstage to many performances.He was an awsome businessman...always had perfect timing for expansion, when Pink Floyd's Lp THE WALL came out he made a display in our entire storefront in the Beloit store and it ended up in Billboard magazine, which was a big thing back then. Along with his business sense he also had a very artistic side and would paint on the windows of the store pretty darn good copies of Lp covers. It was great! It was the best life we would've imagined. We worked a lot, open 7 days a week,by 1982 we had been married 10years and wanted to do something special and reward ourselves. So with good employees in place we planned our 10 yr anniversary....21 days....1st to Florida, Disney...then Bahama's for 8 days.....back to Florida...rented a car and drove to Memphis and then Nashville and flew home to WI. All of this took place in Feb. Celebrating my Birthday on the 2ND and our anniversary on the 5Th....We were back about a week or so and on March 3rd 1982 he was working in Janesville and I in Beloit. We had a part time employee covering Janesville, and so he suggested he go to Beloit and work the evening hours and then I could catch up on some paperwork and make a late dinner for the 2 of us at home. I agreed and he called me from the beloit store around 6:30 to say hi and ask about dinner...said he would be home on time which meant 8:30. 8:35 came and I felt very uneasy...it was weird something felt wrong....I was nervous...I felt like some thing was not right. I called the Beloit Police Station and asked to just check the store for me. They called me back and said to go to Beloit Memorial Hosp. and not to come alone......so I phoned a friend/employee to go along. As I hung up the phone, there was a knock at the door and it was a Rock Co Sheriff telling me to come with him. I got to Beloit hosp alone and was taken to a room and told Gary had been shot and..did he have any enemies?No...no...no....no was all I had to say. He was against violence and absolutely no enemies. Everybody liked Gary and he was an extremely positive person,very upbeat and happy. I was a mess ....from the night on....I sat in a stairwell in the hospital til 1:00AM being questioned by detectives.12 in of snow fell that night ...terrible blizzard.....every time it snows I think of that night. He was shot a close range...3-4 ft...with a sawed off pump shot gun. His entire lower torso was gone and side of his body....he was found laying in the street....Pleasant St....he had apparently pulled himself back into the van...after attempting to step out and try and make the after hour bank deposit...that I made every night in that exact location! Gary's fingerprints were on the end of the barrel of the gun...trying to push the gun away. 11 days later, I believe,I got a call from the Captain of Beloit PD and they had arrested Terry Lee Erickson, age 19, had a criminal record, out on his own recognizance.They found the gun in the trunk of his car with blood stained clothes with Gary's blood. Gary died March 3rd 1982 and the trial took place in August. He was sentenced to life with parole. He spent 11 yrs. 9 months and he came up for his first parole interview. and every year since then. I have responded every year and shown up. At the trial myself, and family and friends viewed the gun and watched each juror pass it to the next...pumping and clicking it....to show intent to kill. Testimony revealed Erickson had bought ammo at an Ace hardware store...and commented 5 bullets for 5 men.....I saw Gary's blood stained clothes held up as evidence along with seat of the Van... Gary was driving...sitting in the court room saturated with blood stains. I took the stand and saw our Van covered in blood as if gallons of red paint had been thrown on the interior and exterior. It took my breath away. to this day I feel as I have lived in horrific nightmare. Every year around Feb- Mar and Aug...I feel something coming over me...I can't sleep...I am agitated...depressed,anxious.I feel lonely isolated...different....unlike everyone else. I have never seen true remorse in Erickson. He is now 45 and Gary was only 32. People still say to me how much they wonder what he would be doing now. Erickson admitted in an article that he intended to kill someone that night and he always wanted to rob a bank. Great goals to have compared to Gary. Please sign the petition to prevent Erickson from getting parole by clicking the link below. Click here for the petition