Warren Schmitt

Warren Michael Schmitt passed away on Sunday, November 6, 2016, with family at his side. Born July 28, 1930, in Jamaica Queens, NY, he was the son of the late Michael Francis and Charlotte Schwarz Schmitt. He fell in love with Alice Chinn and together they raised four kids, Karen Rummel (Gregg), Paul, David (Patty) and Jenny. He moved the family to South Carolina in 1964 and said he never looked back. When Alice died too young, Warren met and fell in love again with Ute Schmotzer Rainer, married until his passing on November 6, 2016. Warren loved the Brooklyn Dodgers, Frank Sinatra, his screened-in porch, his National Review subscription, good food, good friends and a good manhattan. He started his career with Milliken & Company, but on the day his beloved Dodgers fell to the Giants on Bobby Thomson's Shot Heard Round The World, he was drafted into the U.S. Marine Corps, where he attained the rank of Sergeant. Upon discharge, he returned to Milliken & Company and would spend the rest of his career there, moving with the company in the early 1960's from Manhattan to Spartanburg - what he later would call "God's country". Upon retirement, he traveled the world, pretended to like golf, and volunteered at SCORE, mentoring many small business owners. He believed his greatest achievement was his family. Warren was proud to be a longtime member of St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Spartanburg, where he served the parish and school in many roles. He was honored to be a founding member of Council 6076 of the Knights of Columbus, where he was a Knight of the Fourth Degree and held several council and state leadership positions. He was a storyteller and loved telling jokes, even the bad ones. He loved making family and friends laugh and groan. He kept elephant's away, imagined money growing on trees, used a simple napkin to enthrall young and old with the story of The Damsel Who Could Not Pay The Rent, and regaled many with his recounting of the story of the Rarey ("It's A Long Way To Tip A Rarey"). Warren also leaves four stepchildren, Frank (Sharon) Rainer, Robert (Ruth) Rainer, Barbara (John) Parker, Philip Rainer; 21 grandchildren; and one great-grandson. Visitation will be 6:00-8:00 PM Thursday, November 10, 2016, at Floyd's Greenlawn Chapel, 2075 E. Main St., Spartanburg, SC 29307. A Mass of Christian Burial will be conducted at 2:00 PM Friday, November 11, 2016, at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, 290 E. Main St., Spartanburg, SC 29302, by the Rev. David R. Whitman. Burial will be in Greenlawn Memorial Gardens, 1300 Fernwood-Glendale Rd., Spartanburg, SC 29307. Memorials may be made to St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church Building Fund, 161 North Dean Street, Spartanburg, SC 29302. Floyd's Greenlawn Chapel To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Warren Michael Schmitt please visit our Sympathy Store.