Thomas C. Schmidt ’52

Tom died June 18, 2012, in Brunswick, Maine.

Coming from Gilman School, he joined Charter Club and roomed with Guy Hollyday. In 1955 he earned a master’s degree from Virginia Theological Seminary and began working in Episcopal Church parishes from Bogota, Colombia; New London, Conn.; and Longmeadow, Mass.; to Zululand and Swaziland. He next earned a Ph.D. in inter-organizational policy from SUNY Buffalo and lent his skills to Rhode Island, where he served as Commissioner of Education from 1974 to 1980.

In 1983, Tom joined the World Bank, serving in Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, and Bangladesh to promote education for poor children. He declared this experience to be the most exciting of his lifetime.

He was married to Lucy Searby, with whom he had three children, Peter, L. Drusilla, and Thomas. They were divorced in 1979. He later married Robin Bell, who survives him.

To Robin, Tom’s children, and his stepdaughter, Julia Barclay, the class sends condolences on the loss of one of the class’s outstanding members.