Class: 1973
Major: History
Residence: Minnetonka, MN
Deceased: June 20, 2019
Alumni survivors: Ms. Emily C. Schmitt ’73 W73 (Widow/Widower), Mr. Daryl Burbank-Schmitt ’69 (Sibling), Mr. Eric C. Tiede ’10 (Nephew)
Deceased 06/20/2019
Brilliant, artistic and intensely curious, Darwin Schmitt was a husband, father and friend who listened more than he spoke, comfortable with silence yet capable of conversing about anything from woodworking to politics, native prairie grasses to coin collecting.
Schmitt, 68, of Minnetonka, died on June 20, 2019, while driving home after meeting friends for coffee when his car collided with a dump truck.
Schmitt was born Sept. 11, 1950, to Wayne and the late Helen Schmitt in Hampton, Iowa. After graduating from Hampton Community High School, he attended Carleton College in Northfield. He went on to graduate with a degree in history before earning a master’s degree from the then-College of St. Thomas and taught high school social studies for a time.
Schmitt met Emily Clough (’73) at Carleton. They were married in August 1982. Darwin and Emily adopted Julia and Alice in 1986 and 1989, respectively, from Korea.
A lifelong learner who loved gadgets, Schmitt pivoted from teaching to working with computers. He worked for Control Data in the 1970s and 1980s and later became a database consultant before retiring a couple of years ago.
Over the years, he immersed himself in gardening, coin collecting and, after retirement, woodworking. He built birdhouses (many sold by Twin Cities area garden shops) and created other works of art in a variety of woods. He loved music, dance and theater and was “a very supportive bystander,” his eldest daughter said, as she became a dancer and then co-owner of an Eden Prairie dance studio.
He never lost his interest in history, delivering impromptu lessons at every opportunity and each roadside marker. His humor was dry. “He didn’t tell dad jokes,” Julia Schmitt said. “It was more highbrow than that. … I didn’t get them.”
Schmitt is survived by his wife and daughters, his father, three siblings, a stepmother and several step-siblings.
Comments
As many of you know, Darwin and I were very close at Carleton. We continued our friendship our entire lives. His family and my family often got together; our girls get up knowing each other well. We were in a book club that has lasted over 15 years.
In addition to the description of Darwin above, I would like to add that he always treated women as equals - to respect, to tease, to argue with genuinely. Many of his closest friends were women.
He was just starting to enjoy retirement and had found a true passion for, and skill with, woodworking. Using his hands and artistic ability he created many beautiful pieces.
His tragic death was hard. He was enjoying a new car when a dump truck ran a red light and hit him.
I did not know Darwin or Emily well in school, just in passing, but that said, they seemed genuinely people interested in lots of things...the Carleton way
Darwin was my next door neighbor in Parrish house our Junior year and became a good friend. He was kind, gentle, always had time to talk and more importantly, was always willing to listen. He also had a wicked sense of humor! After Carleton I didn't see Darwin again until our 25th reunion and yet we are able to pick up right where we left off! It was difficult to learn of his passing.