John F. Schmutz

John Frederick Schmutz (Jack) died on May 5th, 2025, one day after his 93rd birthday, and one decade after his wife Eileen’s death.  Jack and Eileen grew up in Palmerton, Pennsylvania and met in the third grade. They married in 1956 and spent almost 60 years together. The family is grateful to the employees of Acts Country House who provided him with a safe and loving environment for more than 10 years and made his final hours as comfortable as possible.

As an undergraduate at Cornell, Jack majored in chemical engineering. After concluding that he did not want to work as a chemical engineer or follow a guidance counselor’s advice to be a funeral director, he went to Georgetown Law School at night while working for Dupont in their Washington D.C. patent office. Jack spent more than 40 years at DuPont, rising through the ranks, ultimately retiring as general counsel, and forming lifelong friendships with colleagues.

Outside of work, Jack was involved in a wide variety of community organizations including the Mary Campbell Center and Children & Families First. Among other things, he taught Sunday school at Saint Andrews Episcopal Church, did pro-bono legal work, was a member of the Merit Employee Relations Board of the State of Delaware and was president of the Delaware Bar Association.  After his retirement, Jack remained actively involved in the University of Delaware’s Academy of Lifelong Learning and served the Board of Advisors for the Widener University Delaware Law School.

Jack was very family-oriented and regretted being an only child. As an adult, he looked forward to annual reunions with Eileen’s siblings and their spouses. He and Eileen were dedicated and loving parents, raising five children.  They were also proud grandparents of ten grandchildren and Jack was very engaged in his children’s and grandchildren’s lives. For example, he coached little league baseball teams for his daughter and three sons; he was a volunteer cook accompanying his son’s team of wildlife biologists in remote regions of Alaska; he persuaded two sons to take sailing classes with him and then took them on sailing trips to destinations near and far.   We will miss him always.

Family and friends may visit from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM on Friday, May 16, 2025 at Chandler Funeral Home, 2506 Concord Pike Wilmington, Delaware 19803. Memorial services will be held at 11 am on Saturday May 17, 2025 at the chapel in Acts Country House, 4830 Kennet Pike, Wilmington Delaware, 19807.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the Mary Campbell Center ( https://marycampbellcenter.org ) or to Children and Families First ( https://www.cffde.org ).