Joseph Michael Schmitt

Joseph Michael Schmitt
Joseph Michael Schmitt, a longtime Ridgefield resident, passed away on December 2, 2024, at the age of 94.
Joe was born February 9, 1930, in Louisville, KY, to the late Edward Peter and Mary Ann (Iula) Schmitt, the youngest of their three sons. He graduated from St. Xavier High School in Louisville and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Louisville in 1951.
Not long after being drafted for the Korean War, Joe completed basic training at Fort Indiantown Gap in Pennsylvania and married his college sweetheart, Judith "Judy" Ann Martin, at St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Pewee Valley, KY, on May 9, 1952. Following a short honeymoon at the grand Stevens Hotel in Chicago, they went to San Francisco to spend time together before Joe's deployment.
During his time overseas, Joe attended the Far East Command Intelligence School and served with an artillery battery in the 45th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army. He returned to Kentucky in 1953 and earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Louisville four years later.
Joe and Judy moved their family to Connecticut in 1957 for Joe's work as a polymer chemist at the American Cyanamid Company in Stamford. He spent his entire career there, inventing a lot of stuff that none of his kids understood. Fortunately, someone did. He earned a number of U.S. patents and received the 1976 Scientific Achievement Award from American Cyanamid's Chemical Research Division.
Joe and Judy settled in Ridgefield in 1958, where their six children were raised.
Joe was a wonderful dad who taught his children the value of learning, laughing and exploring. In addition to his wickedly wonderful Catholic jokes, his kids will always remember swimming with him at Great Pond and Windwing, sledding at Ridgebury, skating at Shapley School and learning to play sports, cards and chess. They loved when he gave each of them "Indian" names, talked plastics, hung mobiles made from his plastic scraps and surprised them with bakery goods, King Neptune fish and chips, burgers from Val's and McD's, as well as his fried potatoes and buckwheat pancakes. His kids didn't like it so much when he gave them "demerits" for bad behavior or used "affirmative" instead of "yes" and "negative" instead of "no." He also liked to toss out Latin phrases, which they didn't understand.
Joe was a master at Jeopardy and loved his MGB, his wife and his kids - probably in that order. He said he didn't like dogs but was a fan of Puddles and Oscar. He was a lifelong fan of UConn Huskies and Louisville Cardinals basketball, the Yankees and was not conflicted when rooting for both the Giants and Jets.
Joe was preceded in death by Judy, his wife of nearly 70 years, as well as his parents and brother Edward P. Schmitt, Jr.
In addition to his brother Karl M. Schmitt of Houston and his wife's sister Peggy Smith of Plymouth Meeting, PA, Joe is survived by his children: Paul Schmitt of Waynesburg, PA, Karen Baker (James) of Danbury, Michael Schmitt (Kari) of Bend, OR, Lisa Carpenter (Michael) of Redding, Carolyn Gorton (Scott) of Trumbull, and Christopher Schmitt (Emily) of Cambridge, MA, as well as ten grandchildren: Kendra Baker, Sage Baker, Thomas Carpenter, Laura Carpenter, Jonathan Gorton (Melissa), Timothy Gorton (Shalyn), Samuel Gorton (Dorit), Henry Schmitt, Lucille Schmitt and Ashley Remley (Joe), and five great-grandchildren: Michael Gorton, Juniper Gorton, Lillian Gorton, Lara Gorton and Rowen Remley.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Joe's memory may be made to Shriners Hospitals for Children, 2900 Rocky Point Drive, Tampa, FL 33607 (https://donate.lovetotherescue.org) and Regional Hospice, 30 Milestone Road, Danbury, CT 06810.