I am saddened to learn of the death of Otto (Tad) Schmidt.  I joined his freshman  English class in the pre-Aragon days at San Mateo High, and it was hard not to recognize him as a presence in Miss McIntyre’s class.  
     Tad had an adventurous sense of play about him…a huge dose of being his vital self, a bit of Huck Finn in the 20th century, who seemed not to lose himself in the anxieties of “teenaging” his way through high school.  He instead had a sense of self that found its own affirmation, and that sense of “playful self” defined his presence in Miss McIntyre’s English class when she whacked him playfully with a ruler. 
     The last time I saw him was at an Aragon High School reunion.  We started to pass by each other like ships in the night, but then Tad stopped, got a glimpse of my name tag, and without any words, hugged me, and moved on. 
     That was Tad, and I’m saddened to know of his passing, his moving on.
     Gene Laskowski

We wer old buds in san mateo sliding around @ nite while dealing w madness of high schoolamo loops & weird insanitryings of nam period et al. Motorcycles classicalmusic allnitebenders goofing @ motorcycle races locals schoolnites.. we semimpromptu played mock war historys of famous teachef in order to atfack w chalked erasers another student who wore black sweaters.. ultra dorkbrains we be!! Mgsterious btw art wit sarcasm stravinsky we always crakinup

Tad was a very handsome wild charming man whom I fell in love with when we were freshman at Cal Poly....It was a crush at a distance for many years and then a short reconnect @ 1974 when his true kindness came forward and a real friendship emerged for a short time until I moved away from SLO....Rest in peace gentle soul. Your imprint in my life was important
thank you

Tad  Schmidt (Otto E.R) and I were roommates at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, our first quarter there. Our dorm was a disaster. They always said if there was a fire just run through the wall.  They tore it down later that year. Tad was the most unique individual I'd ever met.  He had his old motorcycle available and loved to ride. Usually took it to class as we were at the very bottom of the hill. I remember one night, I'd gone to bed early on the upper bunk, and Tad spent about an hour, trying to make it look as if it were morning, i.e. Reset clocks, put a lamp outside the shade to make it look like morning, then alarmingly woke me up as if it were late morning.  Typical for Tad.  He love the movie "Lawerance of Arabia". Even liked to comb his hair back like Peter O' Toole.  Spent lot of time crabbing at Pirites Cove, at Avila beach.  Spent a little time at his parents beautiful home in the Bay Area.  Never saw him after college.  Too bad. Great man.  Rest in Peace.

I was friends with Otto at Cal Poly, and he was a person who was unforgettable. He was the merry ringleader  of a group of us free spirits, taking us on happy trails, like crabbing at Pirates Cove, on what he called “Wednesday Weekends”, making the college days filled with adventure, laughter, and creative fun. I stilll have a rock he painted to look like a fish for me, and many happy memories of those years. May he rest in peace and happiness.

I met Tad in September 1963 at Cal Poly SLO where we were reporting aboard as Freshmen, residing in the same on-campus dorm. We became friends and roomed together a few other times thru the next 3-years.  He took 2 or 3 of us up to his home in San Mateo  where we met his parents. Too many stories to tell, but OTOERS was the freest spirit and most interesting person I’ve ever known. May he Rest In Peace. 

OBITUARIO

Otto Ernest Robert Schmidt

16 mayo, 1945 – 6 diciembre, 2019

Chapel of the Roses & Chapel of the Roses Cemetery

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