Dr. Edward C.H. Schmidt Jr.

Edward C. H. Schmidt, Jr., M.D. of Easton died on Friday, August 4, 2006 at William Hill Manor. He was 94 years of age. Born in Ben Avon (Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania, on March 7, 1912, he was the son of the late, Edward C. H. Schmidt and Margaret White Ferguson Schmidt. Doctor Schmidt is survived by his wife, the former Hendrika deRooy Karge. They were married February 12, 1984, in All Faith Chapel located in the Memorial Hospital, Easton. Also surviving are two sons, Edward C. H. Schmidt III, and his wife, Carol Kidston Schmidt, of Wellesley, MA; Christian E. Schmidt and his wife, Carina Cederberg Schmidt of Smyrna, Delaware; two daughters, Ellen Koch Schmidt Sidey, and her husband, Michael, of Middletown, New Jersey; Marianne Ferguson Schmidt Koontz and her husband, Kenneth W. Koontz, of Eldersburg, Maryland; and seven grandchildren. One son, John E. Schmidt, predeceased his father on December 4, 1994. Doctor Schmidt’s only sibling, a sister, Dorothy Schmidt Clark, died on February 4, 1993. He is further survived by two step-sons, Robert F. Karge, and his wife, Gail Plutschak Karge, of Preston, MD; Lt. Col. Eric Douglas Karge and his wife, Dr. Belinda Dunnick Karge, of El Cajon, California; two step daughters, Diana Joan Karge of Easton, MD and Adriana Karge Edsell of Easton, MD and five step-grandchildren. He attended public schools in Ben Avon, Pennsylvania, followed by attendance at the University of Pennsylvania where he participated in lightweight crew and football. He received a bachelor’s degree in economics (1934), his Master’s (1935) and Ph.D in Zoology (1937) at the University of Pittsburgh. He father’s death prompted a major interest in medicine, and he entered Johns Hopkins School of Medicine where he was a Dennison Scholar for three years (1938-39-40) and received his Doctor of Medicine in 1941. Following internship (1941-42) and while serving as a resident in pathology, Uncle Sam requested his services in World War II as a member of the U. S. Army Medical Corps (AAF 1943-46). After OTS at Carlisle, he was assigned to the Army Air Force Training Base at Miami Beach, Florida. Because of his then recent pathology training, he was transferred to the Laboratory and later to the Air Force Regional Hospital (formerly the Miami Biltmore Hotel) which served casualties of the China, Burma and India campaigns. While in Florida, he married the former, Dorothy Harriet McGuigan of Baltimore, MD on May 22, 1943, at All Souls Episcopal Church, Miami Beach. She died of cancer on February 8, 1981, after 38 years of marriage. While stationed in Florida and in collaboration with the Anthropoid Research Foundation (of Dania, Florida), he isolated the encephalomyocarditis virus which caused myocarditis in young chimps and both myocarditis and encephalitis in mice. Following his release with the rank of Major from the Army, he became Assistant Pathologist at St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City (1946-49) and Instructor of Pathology at the University of Kansas Medical Center and was consultant in pathology at the Wadsworth Veterans Hospital. In 1948, he attended the second course in Clinical Cytology conducted by Doctor George Papanicolaou (developer of the PAP test) at Cornell School of Medicine. He later joined Doctor John Gregory at Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia as Associate Professor of Pathology (1950-52). In 1952, Doctor Schmidt accepted a newly created position as Chief of Pathology and Laboratory Services at the Memorial Hospital, Easton. Upon his arrival, the Laboratory Staff consisted of three technologists. At the time of his retirement, 35 years later, the Laboratory Staff consisted of three board-certified pathologists and fifty technologists and other personnel including specialists in most fields of laboratory medicine. During his tenure at Memorial Hospital, he served at various times as consultant to Dorchester General Hospital, Kent and Queen Anne’s Hospital and the Eastern Shore Hospital Center. He published more than twenty scientific papers ranging from case reports to describing the isolation and characteristics of the EMC virus. His interest in cytology naturally led to intense participation in the American Cancer Society and subsequently his position as President of the Maryland Division. He was lauded with an honorary life membership with the Maryland Division. Also, he was a member of the National House Delegates and served on the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society. Doctor Schmidt served on various committees of the Maryland Medical and Chirurgical Faculty, including 15 years on the Editorial Board of the Med Chi Journal. Doctor Schmidt was a Fellow of the College of American Pathologists, a member of the American Society of Pathologists and the American Medical Association, and was President of the Maryland Society of Pathologists for two years. He served two terms on the Board of Directors of the Memorial Hospital, Easton, and served as interim Administrator of the Memorial Hospital 1958-59. Doctor Schmidt had also held memberships with the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Club and served on its board of governors, the Miles River Yacht Club, the Talbot Country Club, the North Palm Beach Country Club and the Tred Avon Yacht Club. The father of a retarded son, Doctor Schmidt worked diligently for the Chesapeake Center, Easton and Holly Center, Salisbury, serving on both boards for many years. He was a member of the Holly Center Foundation Board for 8 years, serving as its treasurer part of that time. He remained active throughout his lifetime in the Holly Center’s (recently renamed Holly Community) fund raising activities. Memorial gifts may be directed to: Talbot Hospice Foundation, 586 Cynwood Drive, Easton, MD, 21601; Holly Community, P. O. Box 1489, Salisbury, MD 21802-1489; or The Salvation Army, P. O. Box 1091, Easton, MD 21601. The burial will be private and at the convenience of the family. Arrangements by Fellows, Helfenbein and Newnam Funeral Home, P. A., Easton, MD.