Schmidt, Orlando Alvin (1924-2002)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 25 Feb 2002 p. 11

Birth date: 1924

text of obituary:

ORLANDO SCHMIDT

Orlando Alvin Schmidt, 77, died Feb. 14, 2002, in Kansas City, Mo. He was born June 6, 1924, in Hutchinson, Kan., to Alvin and Mary Isaak Schmidt, and grew up on the family farm near Buhler, Kan.

He was baptized on May 30, 1937, and became a member of Buhler Mennonite Church.

He graduated from Bethel College in North Newton, Kan., in 1945 with a bachelor’s degree in English and Bible and a minor in music. He attended the Biblical Seminary of New York from 1945 to 1949, graduating with a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree. After attending the Sacred School of Music of Union Theological Seminary in New York, he earned a Master of Sacred Music degree in 1951.

On Aug 1, 1947, he married Ruth Wenger in Aberdeen, Idaho. They had two sons.

He was associate pastor and minister of music at Bethel Mennonite Church, Mountain Lake, Minn., from 1952-1959. From 1960 to 1962 he was professor of music at Hesston College. He was then asked to be professor of music and worship at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Ind. Here he served 27 years until retirement.

He also served as organist at Trinity United Methodist Church and directed the Elkhart Community Bach Choir. He was a member of Hively Avenue Mennonite Church in Elkhart during those years.

During his sabbatical in 1979 he edited the hymnbook, Sing and Rejoice – New Hymns for Congregations. He served on the committees for two church hymnals, The Mennonite Hymnal and Hymnal: A Worship Book, working on the text and music committees for both.

After retirement he lived in Kansas City and was a part of Rainbow Mennonite Church.

Survivors include his son, John; two sisters, Betty Epp of Goessel and Rosa Mae Haugsness of Buhler, and a brother, Alfred Schmidt of Buhler.

Preceding him in death were his wife, Ruth; and his son, Theodore. Both died in a car accident in 1973.

A memorial service was held Feb. 20 at AMBS. Burial was in Violett Cemetery, Goshen, Ind.

4 Mar 2002 p. 8

AMBS music professor dies at 77

Schmidt contributed to leading hymnals

By Mary E. Klassen

Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary

ELKHART, Ind. — Orlando Schmidt, 77, professor emeritus of church music and worship at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, died Feb. 14 at a Kansas City, Mo., hospital.

Schmidt taught at AMBS from 1962 to 1989. Among his most enduring legacies from these years are the Sing and Rejoice hymnal, which he edited; his influence in the design of the Chapel of the Sermon on the Mount at AMBS; and the selection of the organ for the chapel.

He also served on the hymnal committees for The Mennonite Hymnal and Hymnal: A Worship Book, hymnals widely used in the Mennonite Church, General Conference Mennonite Church and now Mennonite Church USA.

“Orlando introduced to Mennonites a wide array of what was new in church music in the 1970s,” said Rebecca Slough, AMBS assistant professor of music and the arts. “Sing and Rejoice was a fresh and well-rounded collection of music. Many of those songs came into the collection of hymns considered for Hymnal: A Worship Book.”

Erland Waltner, president emeritus of Mennonite Biblical Seminary, said that at the end of Schmidt’s tenure at AMBS, he wrote, “Corporate worship is the center of my concern for the church.”

Waltner said: “This was the energizing core of his rich and fruitful life and ministry in the service of God and the church of Jesus Christ. He trained and directed congregational, college, seminary and community choirs with skill, enthusiasm and joy. For years he taught classes in worship and the fine arts, always trusting that ‘in our music God be glorified.’”

C. J. Dyck, professor emeritus of Anabaptist and 16th-century studies for Mennonite Biblical Seminary, said: “He was a man of deep faith. Before the term ‘spirituality’ was current as it is today, he embodied it.”

Schmidt was born June 6, 1924, at Hutchinson, Kan., the son of Alvin and Mary Isaak Schmidt. He grew up on the family farm near Buhler, Kan.

Schmidt earned a bachelor of arts degree from Bethel college at North newton, Kan., in 1945. He also earned a bachelor of sacred theology degree from the Biblical Seminary of New York in 1949 and a master of sacred music degree from the Sacred School of Music of Union Theological Seminary in New York in 1951.

On Aug. 1, 1947, he married Ruth Wenger at Aberdeen, Idaho.

From 1952 to 1959 he was associate pastor and minister of music at Bethel Mennonite Church at Mountain Lake, Minn. From 1960 to 1962 he was professor of music at Hesston (Kan.) College.

He directed the Elkhart Community Bach Choir for many years and taught organ at the seminary and Goshen College.

Tragedy struck the family Nov. 25, 1973, when Schmidt’s wife and their son, Theodore, died in a car accident.

After his retirement, Schmidt moved to Kansas City, where he continued his involvement in the church until Alzheimer’s disease made this difficult.

He is survived by a son, John; two sisters, Betty Epp of Goessel, Kan., and Rosa Mae Haugsness of Buhler, Kan.; and a brother, Alfred of Buhler.

A funeral service was held at Rainbow Mennonite Church at Kansas City, Kan. A memorial service was held in the Chapel of the Sermon on the Mount at AMBS. Burial was in Violett Cemetery at Goshen.