Remembering and Celebrating Warren Schmitt

Remembering the Life and Contributions of Warren Schmitt

Early in his career with Allstate Insurance, Warren Schmitt was posted at different offices around the country in three-year stints. In 1972, the New Jersey native got his next assignment in Northbrook, Illinois.

Warren and his wife, Karen, moved nearby to Long Grove. They didn’t expect to put down roots here. They assumed they would stay for three years before Warren was transferred somewhere else. But it didn’t quite work out like that; they never left.

Now five decades later, the fabric of the Village of Long Grove has a gaping hole. Warren passed away on Sept. 28, 2021, at age 92 after a long life of service to his family, environment, and community. He is survived by Karen, his wife of 49 years; their son, Thomas, of Chicago; and their nephew, Gregory, of New Jersey.

Known as a doer who never turned down a challenge, Warren’s fingerprints are all over Long Grove all these years after he and Karen first settled here.

Countless people in the community fondly recall Warren’s efforts as a preservationist, volunteer, and mentor to many.

“He was very kind, and that sticks out in everybody’s mind, I think,” Karen said. “Also, he was a man of honor. If he said he was going to do something, he was going to do it. He just did it because he saw a need. That’s Warren.”

Warren began earning that reputation almost as soon as he moved to Long Grove, quickly becoming immersed in service to the community and never quite slowing down. Warren was elected to the village board as a trustee in 1975, just three years after they first relocated, and he served until 1979. He did not stop there, going on to become a member of the Fire Protection District Board and Zoning Board of Appeals, a founding member of the Long Grove Lions Club, and chair of the Village Conservancy Committee.

"When there was a job to be done, Warren was there. I'm not sure that we make volunteers like him anymore,” said Bobbie O’Reilly, a current village trustee and longtime friend of the Schmitts who for years was also a member of the Lions Club with Warren. “What Warren learned early on is when you volunteer like that, you get more back than you give."

A Man of Service

Karen traces Warren’s sense of honor, loyalty, and duty back to his time in the military. After graduating high school, he enlisted in the Army and served a tour in Germany and France toward the end of World War II. He returned to the U.S. and earned a degree in accounting in 1952, but duty called again. Despite not being required to do so, Warren felt compelled to re-enlist to serve in the Korean War.

After his second tour of duty, Warren was honorably discharged. His final rank was captain.

“I think the dedication was inbred in him,” Karen said. “I really do. He had that sense of service, which is why he went into the second war. He didn’t have to go to Korea, but he did. It was a patriotism thing.”

Warren’s loyalty carried over into his professional career, too. By the time he retired in 1992, he had been with Allstate for 38 years. He ended his career as director of information security at the company’s home office in Northbrook.

After retirement, Warren remained active in Long Grove and surrounding communities. As he continued to age, he accepted his new limitations but always found another way to be helpful.

“He never gave up. He still wanted to be active and vital,” Karen said.

It’s only natural, then, that Warren eventually found himself on the Long Grove Fire Protection District Board of Directors in the 1990s. During this time, he met Jim Monroe, who spent 25 years as the Fire Protection District Board President and was also an active member of the Lions Club. The two became good friends as Warren helped out with everything from controlled burns to forest preservation to setting up the district’s first-ever accounting system, Monroe said.

"We became friends right off the bat. He was always trying to do something to improve things,” Monroe said. “He always had it in his mind to help other people."

Warren took a particular interest in improving the lives of senior citizens. O’Reilly fondly recalled one event Warren organized in 2001. He recruited community members who owned classic cars to pick up local elders and bring them into town for an ice cream social.

“It was such a hit,” O’Reilly said. “To bring in all the real senior citizens of the town for ice cream was just stunning. I wish somebody would do it again.”

Karen said Warren also put his computer skills to good use, volunteering in Palatine to give seniors technology lessons.

But it wasn’t just people that Warren served. He was also fiercely protective of Long Grove’s natural resources, participating in highway protests, protecting native species, and serving in preservation groups.

In fact, protecting the environment was Warren’s favorite cause. He and a group of friends—all of whom are now also deceased—would be genuinely excited about going out on “teasel control” to clean up the invasive plant.

“They were like little boy scouts,” Karen said.

Well-Regarded, But Humble

Warren was a prominent figure in the community, but by all accounts, he never sought recognition. He simply viewed his civic duties as a natural part of life. His low-key demeanor served as an example for many, such as John Kopecky, owner of The Country House of Long Grove.

Kopecky was in his early 20s when he met Warren. The two were founding members of the Lions Club in 1984. He witnessed Warren become a mentor, especially for children and young adults in the community such as himself at the time.

“He was a pillar of the community, but it was not anything he sought,” Kopecky said. “That's why I say he was a role model. He instilled in me patience and courtesy and that sort of thing—by example. He never lectured anybody."

It was not just adults that could learn from Warren’s wisdom, though. When he and Karen first moved to Long Grove, they appreciated some of their older community members who could pass on generations’ worth of knowledge. As time went on, Warren became a “wise old folk himself,” Karen joked.

Neighborhood kids learned from Warren, especially regarding nature, conservation, and preservation.

He taught children about agriculture by taking some to Farm Heritage Shows in Wisconsin. In his own garden, he planted pumpkins and would let neighborhood children pick their own—but on the condition that they had to watch it grow from the start and let Warren teach them about farming along the way.

Warren was also active with the YMCA Adventure Guide program—then known as Indian Guides—that sees individuals and groups go on outdoor expeditions to help children connect to the outdoors.

“He was always instructing,” Karen said.

Even after almost 50 years of marriage, Karen said Warren’s passing has allowed her to learn new things about her late husband and feel an even deeper connection to him. She said friends told her stories at his funeral she had never heard. When going through his belongings, she found that his ice cream social event had received an Illinois Governor’s Hometown Award—something he had never mentioned to her.

On the other hand, Kopecky said he never heard Warren talk about his military service at all, something he attributed to Warren’s humbleness.

"He wasn't the kind of guy to sit at the head of the table. He would sit in the middle. That reveals a lot,” Kopecky said. "He wasn't a chairman. He was one of the guys, for sure."

Warren’s stature in the community could also cause some humorous unintended side effects. One such time that Kopecky recalled was during a Candy Day fundraiser for the Lions Club. On Candy Day, club members hand out candy in exchange for donations that go toward people with hearing loss or who are visually impaired.

The fundraisers were always great successes, but they came with a catch: Warren attracted many donations, Kopecky recalled with a laugh, but he also drew such a long line of people who wanted to talk to him that he held up traffic.

Never Stopped Helping

For Warren, it truly was a lifetime of service. It wasn’t until just a few years ago—2018, when he was almost 90—that he finally retired from public service. At that time, the Village Board presented him with an award for his years of service to the community—a proclamation and a special clock.

“He was very proud of that,” Karen said. “He never asked for it, but it touched him greatly. That was really the culmination of his volunteer career for the village, and he loved that.”

For the last year of his life, Warren lived at a local senior care facility, but that did not prevent him from trying to make plans. Karen said he came up with several ideas; his signature proposal was for the facility to create a butterfly garden—in line with his lifelong commitment to conservation efforts.

“They never saw anything like Warren come into that place,” Karen joked. “He was still sharp enough and interested enough in being a player. He still had enough interest in helping, fixing, doing until he couldn’t anymore.”

When it was time, Warren passed away peacefully. He was recognized, appreciated, and honored by people throughout the entire community. While those who knew and loved him are saddened to be without him, Karen said she also cannot be bitter or angry that he was taken from this world.

“He was blessed,” Karen said. “I can’t mourn the loss of Warren. He had a good life. He was proud of his son. What more does somebody want in life? He got to do just about everything that he really wanted to do, except have a firetruck on the front lawn and ski in South America. That’s pretty good.”