Lawrence Schmitz

2Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 

Larry Schmitz (age 81) of the Village of Harrison, WI passed away at home with his family surrounding him on November 8, 2024 as a result of his fight with cancer. He was loved dearly by his family and friends and his memory will be forever cherished.

He was born Dec. 4, 1942 in Plymouth, Wisconsin to Lawrence A. and Marcella E. (Sippel) Schmitz.

He graduated from Plymouth High School in 1961, where he was the Senior Class President and a varsity athlete, lettering in football and track, as well as co-directing the Senior class play and school talent show.

In 1965, Larry graduated from UW-Whitewater. He held many part time jobs (up to five jobs concurrently!) during that time to finance his education. His goal was to graduate within 4 years- no matter what- and he accomplished that. He served as President of the Student Council and later was the first member to be selected to the UW-W Student Government Hall of Fame. He was also a member of Phi Sigma Epsilon.

Larry married his high school sweetheart, Nancy Noordyk, Aug. 15, 1964. She became a homemaker raising their 3 daughters and supporting Larry in his business career, which involved a large amount of travel. Larry’s career took them from Trane Company in LaCrosse to Tenneco Automotive in Racine to Price Waterhouse in Milwaukee and finally to Schenck SC in Appleton, WI. Larry retired in 2000 after 20 yrs. as a Shareholder and Executive Officer of Management Consulting with Schenck SC. He would be the first to tell you he could never have done any of it without Nancy.

Larry served as the Chairman of the Governor’s Task Force on Small Business Regulation under Governor Tony Earl, the Chairman of Regional Conferences for the Governor’s Conference on Small Business under Governor Tommy Thompson, and the Delegate from Wisconsin to the White House Conference on Small Business under President Ronald Reagan.

Within his local community, he was the Co-president (with Nancy) of the Parent’s Club at Xavier High School, the Division Leader of the United Way, the Treasurer (14 years) of North Shore Golf Club, the Finance Committee and an Usher at St. Mary’s Church in Appleton, and he received the Outstanding Jaycee Award from the Racine Jaycees.

Larry was recognized with honors such as being selected by Marquis’s Who’s Who in America and being voted as the President and various other offices at the regional and national levels of the Association of Information Technology Professionals. He was the founding President of the Wisconsin Chapter and awarded the Certified Management Consultant designation by the Institute of Management Consultants. He served as the President of the Wisconsin Honeywell Users Group and was awarded the Certified Computing Professional designation by the Institute of Certified Computing Professionals.

Larry took his job as Senior Class President of the Plymouth High School Class of 1961 very seriously and he regularly kept track of his classmates, keeping everyone connected and ensuring that they had wonderful reunions in the years since they graduated. He loved attending his grandchildren’s’ sporting and theatrical events and he was always a very dedicated sports fan- cheering on his Packers, Badgers, and Brewers. Golfing and travelling with Nancy and friends was always a highlight during Larry’s life.

Larry considered his most important accomplishments to be marrying his high school sweetheart, Nancy and being a good Christian, husband, father, grandfather, father-in-law, son, son-in-law, brother, brother-in-law and uncle. He saw these as the most important jobs that God gave him. He loved his family dearly and considered their welfare to be his personal responsibility. Larry regularly witnessed to others, showing his strong love of God.

Larry’s heroes were truly his parents. His father, Lawrence “Laurie” Schmitz was an especially honest and fair man who, as Undersheriff, bravely stood up to a crooked sheriff (who went to prison). He was drafted into WWII and served in North Africa and Italy and won many medals as an MP, fighting to preserve freedom of his wife and two sons. These are just a couple examples describing the sort of father Larry had. His mother, Marcella “Sip” was the strongest Christian Larry knew and she held the family together while her husband was overseas in the war and while he was a TB patient for almost 2 years. Marcella worked full time and took in boarders to try to make ends meet as the family faced many financial challenges. Larry truly admired and worked to emulate his parents and their values throughout this lifetime.

Larry is survived by his loving wife of 61 years- Nancy, daughters Miki Wise (Joe), Renee Koch (Paul), and Amy Schmitz, grandchildren Max Frechette, James Wise (Dani), Marcus Wise (Alyssa), and Delaney Koch, great-grandchildren (Lucas, Violet, and Beckham), and his brother Dick Schmitz (Gini), brothers and sisters-in-law (Nancy’s siblings and their spouses), nephews and nieces. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother-in-law, Jerry Klemme.

Following Larry’s wishes, cremation has taken place, and a private service will be held in the future. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Project Angel Hugs in Plymouth, WI and to the Angels who hugged us at Moments Hospice Care.