Robert Joseph Schmoll Jr.

Bob was a lifelong resident of Fort Wayne. He attended St. John the Baptist Elementary School and Bishop Luers High School. After graduating from Dayton University in 1968 with a degree in accounting, he attended Indiana University, graduating with his J.D. in May 1972.

While in law school, he completed a summer internship with the law firm of Hoffman, Moppert & Solomon, later joining that firm as an Associate upon his graduation in 1972. Bob specialized in family law and general trial practice for the next six years.

On January 1, 1979, he accepted an appointment to the Allen Superior Court in the Family Relations Division, where he served as a Referee, then accepted an appointment as a Magistrate on July 1, 1989. Bob served the Family Court with distinction and compassion, positively impacting thousands of lives in his 16 years in Family Court. He presided over all types of family law matters, including juvenile delinquency cases. Many Allen County children faced Bob and were “scared straight” after their Court appearances, particularly if Bob removed his glasses to ensure these children got his point.

On January 1, 1995, Bob moved into the Criminal Division of Superior Court where he served until his retirement. Bob was first assigned to the Misdemeanor & Traffic Division, and then was transferred to Felony Court in 1998, where he presided over the arraignment calendar. Bob thrived in these high volume courts and certainly kept the docket moving. Many defendants in criminal court recognized Bob from their time in juvenile court, and Bob certainly remembered them as well. He could be gruff and demanding, but he was compassionate and forgiving, and even gentle at times. When he served in the Drug Court, those clients saw the kinder and gentler side of Judge Schmoll. And Drug Court brought out the best in Bob…he loved covering that calendar and did some of his best work helping clients regain their lives.

Bob retired from Allen Superior Court June 1, 2011, but continued to serve as a Senior Judge. Not only did he serve in Allen County, but he made himself available as a Senior Judge in surrounding counties, always willing to help out as needed until 2022 when he entered full-time retirement. Thereafter, Bob held Court in his living room and on his porch in beautiful West Central, entertaining his neighbors and colleagues with stories of his time on the bench.

One of Bob’s closest friends and colleagues wrote about him: “In Bob’s professional life as a judicial officer, he had the unique ability to make rulings, both oral and written, ultimately fair and equitable but simultaneously leaving recipients with a measure of grace, disgrace, enmity, or amity as was their inevitable due. Bob kept his own counsel with his remarkable capacity for insight, which extended to his personal life towards those few he positively so favored to want to return such favor to Bob in double trust, knowing he might not outwardly acknowledge, but receive with great depth and appreciation. He leaves those favored few behind as a blessed memory.”

Bob was preceded in death by his parents Robert Joseph Schmoll Sr. and Elizabeth Sexton Schmoll, as well as his sister Marta Schmoll Kohne.

He will be greatly missed by his sisters Barbara Mahoney (Tim), Katy Schmoll (Tom), and Tracy Smith (Sean). Bob also leaves behind many nieces and nephews, as well as grandnieces and grandnephews.

The family would like to thank Bob's wonderful neighbors of West Central, his colleagues with whom he worked in the Allen County Courthouse, and his lifelong friends for their love and support, especially during the last few years of his life.

Many thanks to the staff of the ICU at Lutheran downtown hospital and Heart to Heart Hospice Care. Their exceptional care and compassion will be remembered forever.

A celebration of life will be held on Friday September 5th at the Allen County Courthouse beginning at 5:00 p.m. All are welcome. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the Allen Superior Court Drug Court program. Please make donations payable to Vet Courts Drug Courts Work ℅ Doug Ulmer 116 E. Berry Street Suite 500 Fort Wayne, IN 46802. Arrangements entrusted to D.O. McComb and Sons Lakeside Park Funeral Home, Fort Wayne, IN.