SCHMITT, RALPH S. (1894-1 Sept. 1974), with his wife DOROTHY PRENTISS SCHMITT†, received both the Charles Eisenman Award (1951) and the Public Service Medal from the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce (1962) for their PHILANTHROPY and community service. A business and civic leader, Schmitt became a partner in the Hayden, Miller & Co. investment firm (1942) and served as: treasurer, vice-president and director of Cleveland Twist Drill (see ACME-CLEVELAND CORP.); president of Laird Norton Co.; board chair of Northwest Paper Co.; and a director of Potlatch Forests. Schmitt was born in Knoxville, TN and graduated from the University of Tennessee (1914) and worked for a time at a Knoxville bank. During WORLD WAR I, he served as a lieutenant and pilot in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. On 24 June 1927 Schmitt married Dorothy Prentiss, niece of FRANCIS FLEURY PRENTISS† and ELISABETH SEVERANCE PRENTISS†. The couple lived in SHAKER HEIGHTS with 2 children, Andrew E. and Rebecca Richardson. They belonged to the CHURCH OF THE COVENANT.

Both Schmitt and his wife served as officers in local cultural and educational organizations. He presided over the CLEVELAND HOSPITAL SERVICE ASSN., BLUE CROSS OF NORTHEAST OHIO, the CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF MUSIC (1938-44), SAINT LUKES MEDICAL CENTER, and the CUYAHOGA COUNTY HOSPITAL SYSTEM (CCHS). He retired from Cleveland Twist Drill in 1969. Schmitt is buried in Winona, MN. Dorothy Schmitt endowed the Alice Chalifoux harpist chair at the CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA in her husband's memory.

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