Obituary of Lorraine A. Schmidt

April 30, 2016 Lorraine A. Schmidt, age 99, passed away on April 30, 2016. She was born in Chicago, Illinois, on September 25, 1916 to parents Meta and Edward Klotz. After early years in Chicago, Lorraine lived with her husband and family in Cleveland, Ohio, and West Caldwell, New Jersey. She moved to Fayetteville, New York in 1963. A member of the United Church of Fayetteville since 1965, Lorraine was active in the choir until age 96 and served as an ordained elder and chair of many committees. Lorraine graduated from Onondaga Community College in 1969 and from Syracuse University in 1974 and retired from Syracuse University as Administrative Assistant to the Dean of the School of Management in 1986. Lorraine was an avid reader and lifelong learner, who belonged to several book clubs, study groups and attended lecture series, concerts and plays. She was an accomplished musician who performed in a piano duo and also with her recorder group, the Unsorted Consort. She also served for many years on the board of the Society for New Music. Lorraine was predeceased by her husband of almost 60 years, Richard H. Schmidt in 1999 and by her son Stephen C. Schmidt in 2014. She is survived by her children, Richard E. Schmidt, Elizabeth Soffer (Walter), Karin Mabe (Paul), Timothy Schmidt (Georgette), Laura Nichols (Paul), and daughters-in-law, Anita Barton-Schmidt and Barbara Schmidt and by her grandchildren Christine Zdunczak (Rob), Joanne Tarbath (Jay), Julia Dzwonkoski, Holly Burghardt (Chip), Tracy Welder (Brian), Jennifer Owen (James), Charles Fitch (Traci), Jessica Cuello (Edward), E. Carl Schmidt, Elizabeth Schmidt, Carol Nichols (Jake), Patricia Nichols, and by her 10 great grandchildren. Lorraine was supported by her loving family and also by her caring neighbors Beth Krauss and Bob Kraft and Ann Staniec and Ron Noll. A memorial service will be held on June 4, 2016 at 1 pm at The United Church of Fayetteville, 310 E. Genesee St., Fayetteville, NY, followed by a reception. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the United Church of Fayetteville