Passing Away of Bruder Klaus Schmid

With great sorrow we announce the passing away of Bruder Klaus Schmid in Germany on 10 September 2021.
Rev. Klaus Schmid served Johann Ludwig Schneller School for over fifty-five years in different capacities. He started as a young volunteer in the early sixties when he served in very difficult conditions. His love to JLSS and Lebanon started at that time.
He later served as an educator, then head of boarding, and finally deputy director.
When he returned to Germany he continued to serve Schneller schools. He worked as the Middle East Liaison Secretary of EMS and as Executive Secretary of the Evangelical Association for the Schneller Schools (EVS). Eventually, he served many years as the chairperson of EVS. In 2017, when he resigned from all official positions, he was awarded the medal of honor of the German president for this long-standing dedication.
JLSS was home for Bruder Schmid. He gave it his best. He was an outstanding educator, a very dedicated pastor, a disciplined, inspiring, and loving person who unconditionally took care of underprivileged children.
He literally served around the clock, through the academic year, and during the summer holidays.
During his time as educator he was at times responsible for two boarding homes caring for sixty to eighty boys. He also had teaching duties during the day.
In spite of all his tough duties, he still found the time to teach and lead a brass-band, organize all sorts of activities like gardening, crafts, woodwork, ceramics, painting on glass, sports, table-tennis, swimming, photography, board-games in winter, organizing the Saturday and Sunday long walks, and the yearly school trips and mountain hikes.
He personally worked during the very few free hours he had left to make the boarding homes under his care better and more welcoming places. He was a person unconditionally dedicated to his work. He worked around the clock to improve the lives of his students.
He was a friendly colleague, a true supporter of teachers and volunteers, a true friend and lover of Arab and especially Lebanese culture, and a fantastic ambassador of German culture.
He didn't believe in cultural boundaries that separated what the local boys could acquire from Western culture. He did this while he was truly respectful of local culture. He helped his student acquire the best of both local and Western cultures. He enabled them to excel in everything, discover their gifts, have very successful careers, and be very happy people.
He did all sorts of things from driving the farm-tractor, to leading the older boys put out fires that occurred occasionally in the JLSS wheat fields or cleaning the filtration tanks of the Schneller spring in the mountain. He was a barber teaching older boys to cut the hair of other boys who needed a haircut. He tended the wounds of children and administered first aid when needed. He cared for the sick and helped Western colleagues adjust to local culture. He painted boarding homes during summer holidays, and even drove to Germany and back. He was a great pastor leading Sunday services and daily chapel.
All this he did for the meager support he used to receive in the early days that enabled him to barely manage. His income was so low that when he once returned to Germany for the summer holiday and stopped for his first German meal in the homeland, he had to wait for his brother to come to collect him and pay for his lunch at the restaurant.
He was greatly loved by his students and colleagues. He was a peace-maker when differences arose among people. Those who knew him have incredible memories of the unbelievable work he did when he served in JLSS.
He also served a few years in Theodore Schneller school in Amman Jordan.
Looking back at his legacy in JLSS it looks and sounds unreal, but this is who he was.
There will be many who will be very sorrowful to know about this tragic loss. There will be many tears among all his former students who will read of his death. He impacted their lives in so many ways that made them what they are.
To this we are all forever grateful to Bruder Schmid.
He moved to the place that fits his character and being as a true loving servant of Jesus Christ. He belonged to the heavenly kingdom from the very beginning and he brought it wherever he served.
We praise God for his wonderful unequalled ministry.
We express our most sincere condolences to his daughters, family, friends, and EVS/EMS for this great loss of one of the founding pillars of JLSS. We equally express our sincere condolences to all his students whom he loved and who loved him so dearly.
The Lord is Risen! He is risen indeed!