Obituary of Ozzie Schmidt

We are greatly saddened to announce that our friend Ozzie slipped away quietly on Sunday May 25, 2025.  At the same time we are happy to have been part of his life, which began in Germany one month after the start of WWII.  After the end of the war, his family escaped from the Russian occupied sector and emigrated from Germany to Canada in 1951.

While Oz was earning his engineering degree at U of Toronto, he became passionately involved with CUSO (Canadian University Service Overseas) a young organization that sent volunteers to work in developing countries. Oz finished a Masters degree in Engineering but it soon became clear that he was more and more engaged by international development issues.  After working with CUSO at home and abroad, Oz worked for agencies focusing on ‘appropriate technology’ including IDRC (International Development Research Centre), a Canadian organization. Oz focused specifically on solutions and technologies for improving postharvest agricultural productivity.  He lived most of his working life in central and southern Africa supporting people and projects designed to strengthen their communities. Ozzie and his wife Sharon returned to Canada in 1996 and sadly, Sharon died in 1997.

Oz retired and established his home in Kingston, Ontario, where in later years, he began to teach German at the Kingston Seniors Centre.  Oz loved teaching and was sincerely dedicated to enhancing the learning of his mature students.  In German, he wrote short stories for his students about his childhood, wrote a delightful Christmas poem every year and played the role of Sankt Nikolaus at the annual Christmas gathering.   Oz also coached a small German reading group in which he helped his students to unravel complex German sentences.

We remember Oz as an affectionate, kind and patient guy. He had a great memory, was idealistic, inquisitive, witty, loyal, supportive and fun. He put people at ease with a smile and a twinkle in his eye. 

Ozzie was predeceased by his wife Sharon and son David.  He leaves behind his loving companion and second wife Sue; his son Dana (Adele) and his two sons Evan and Riley; Lorraine (David), mother of their sons Ian and Jack and daughter Malaika; his sister Trudy and her family; and an international collection of friends and colleagues who wish Oz was here to hug all of our heartbreak away.

Donations to the University Hospital Kingston Foundation are welcome.  There will be a Celebration of Oz’s life on Sunday September 21^st (2 – 4:30 pm) at the Donald Gordon Centre in Kingston.