Arthur Walter Schmutz

1921 - 2019

1921 - 2019 Arthur Schmutz departed this life on September 4, 2019. He was 98 years old.Born on August 2, 1921 in Akron, Ohio, he and his brother Paul were raised by his maternal grandparents in Frostburg, Maryland. Arthur graduated from high school in 1936 and traveled to Baltimore to watch the famous match race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral. Exposure to this city motivated him to move to Baltimore, living with Sarah and Tom Moore, through the help of his hometown friend Jack Pugh (Sarah's brother). It was there he met his future wife Elizabeth.Arthur enlisted in World War II, serving in the US Army Air Corps and being stationed in England prior to D-Day. Transported through Omaha Beach a few days following D-Day, he served in France and Germany until the end of the war. Arthur returned to the US in 1946 having attained the rank of master-sergeant. Eligible for the GI Bill, he was accepted at Johns Hopkins University and graduated in 1949, Phi Beta Kappa. Harvard Law School was his next destination, where he graduated in 1952. The year prior he married Elizabeth (Betty) Moore, who would be his wife of over 68 years. On the advice of his law school colleagues, he decided to travel in pursuit of a legal career in Los Angeles.Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher hired Arthur in 1952, where he remained an active partner, then senior partner, for over four decades. He specialized in corporate law, focusing on public offerings by financial institutions. He helped create institutions like Financial Federation, while representing at various times The Ahmanson Corporation, California Federal Savings, the Los Angeles Times, the Ralph M. Parsons Company and Ducommon. He was one of the most highly respected practitioners in his field and served on the executive committee at Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher for many years.Few equaled Arthur's reputation for integrity, fairness and upright character. He had the utmost love, admiration and respect of all who knew him.He is survived by his wife Betty; his sons, David (Geri), Stuart and Jonathan (Sonja); his daughter Anne Marie Singer (Jono); and grandchildren, Elizabeth and Arthur (Schmutz), Katie and Cooper (Singer).A memorial service will be held Friday September 27 (2:00 pm) at St. Charles Borromeo Church in North Hollywood with a reception to follow.In lieu of flowers, the family requests well-wishers make a donation to Providence Trinity Hospice.