Karl Anthony Schmitt

Karl Anthony Schmitt was born February 2, 1965 in Beaver, Pennsylvania. He was the 4th of 7 children, having 4 brothers and 2 sisters. Karl started high school in Midland, Pennsylvania and his family moved, just before he started his Junior year, to Longview, Texas. Karl finished high school as a “Panther” attending his Junior and Senior years of high school at Spring Hill High School in Longview, Texas, graduating with the Class of 1983.

Though Karl was fond of jokingly telling people he had a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh, he did not, actually, attend college. After high school, Karl moved to the Metroplex, settling in Arlington, Texas, in the late 1980’s or early 1990’s. He started his own business, Preferred Inventory Services, and ran it successfully for many years before going into the car sales business in the early 2000’s.

In September 1992, friends set him up on a blind date with the woman he would spend 29 years married to. Karl and Ashley “tied the knot” at the Hotel Crescent Court, in Dallas, Texas, on the same day the Buffalo Bills came from 32 points down to beat the then Houston Oilers in the NFL Playoffs. Buffalo went on to face the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXVII but Karl did not care at all for the Dallas Cowboys or the Buffalo Bills. If you knew Karl, you knew he bled Pittsburgh Steelers “black and gold” and was a die-hard fan, whether they were doing well or doing poorly. Karl was also a fan of the University of Pittsburgh football and basketball teams and loved the Pittsburgh Penguins, too. He was not a very big fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates and often told anyone who would listen, Pittsburgh was a two-team town.

Karl became a father to his oldest daughter Nicole in 1994. Nicole was followed by Caitlin in 1996 and Thomas, his only son, was born in 2002. All three of his children graduated from Newman Smith High School in Carrollton, Texas. Karl proudly attended their cheerleading, theater and other performances or events throughout high school and was a devoted and loving father to each of his children.

Karl was loud and boisterous, and loved to say “Glad you got to see me” when saying goodbye to friends and family alike. And he was the center of attention … the life of every party … something he absolutely relished!!! In August 2020, Karl was diagnosed with Stage 4 small-cell lung cancer. He fought off what he called “the cancer” for a little more than a year and was a testament to both courage and grit. Unfortunately, “the cancer” took Karl on Thursday, November 11, 2021. He was 56 years old …..

Karl was preceded in death by both his paternal and maternal Grandparents (from the Schmitt and Caulder families), his sister, Ann Slappy (known to friends and family as “Sissy”), his father and mother in-law, Thomas and Carol Craft and a brother in-law, Brandon Miller.

Karl is survived by his mother, Shirley Caulder, of Midland, Pennsylvania, his father Charles Schmitt and his step-mother, Marlee, both of Longview, Texas his devoted wife Ashley, of Dallas, Texas, his daughter Nicole and her fiancé Austin of Little Elm, Texas, his daughter, Caitlin, and his son, Thomas, both also from Dallas, Texas, his brother, Charles Schmitt (and his wife, Susan) from Gulf Shores, Alabama, his brother, John (and his wife, Alicia) from Atlanta, Georgia, his brother, David, from Longview, Texas, his brother, Chris, from Austin, Texas and his sister, Jennifer (and her husband, Rodney) from San Antonio, Texas. Karl is also survived by two sisters in-law, Stephanie Miller and Shannon Craft, both from Dallas, Texas, and a brother in-law, Sean Craft (and his wife, Penny) from Chesterfield, Missouri, and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends whom he dearly loved.

He will be missed terribly …..