Keith Stanley Schmidt, age 62, passed away June 17, 2020. He was born with his twin sister in Austin, Texas on August 28, 1957 to Charlyne and Howard Schmidt. Family was the most important thing in Keith's life and he was a dedicated and protective son and brother. He was born into a large family of six children as well as a larger family of aunts, uncles and cousins in the Austin and Houston areas. He was always proud of being a 6th generation German Texan as well as his Pfluger Family heritage. Keith grew up in Northeast Austin and graduated from John H. Reagan High School in 1976. He was a true Austinite and enjoyed live music, the Austin party scene in the 70's, and the beautiful Central Texas outdoors. He had life-long friends that he ran with when Austin was a small town and loved this city so much. He was a great dancer and enjoyed going to all the clubs in Austin, most recently disco nights at the Iron Cactus. Many days of his youth were spent motor-cross racing, boating on Lake Travis and camping at Paleface Park, South Padre, and Bastrop. He was also a talented artist and spent hours drawing and painting amazing artwork. Keith was friendly, outgoing and admired for his bigger than life personality as long as you didn't mess with his sisters. Keith was an incredibly clever person who used his industrious creativity in every aspect of his life. He was a master carpenter and highly skilled in many areas. He built so many structures in Austin that it's impossible to name them all. He could literally build a house from the ground up, put a roof on it and then build a fence around it. Keith loved to cook especially barbeque! Nothing made him happier than hanging out while smoking a brisket and listening to country music. His talents didn't stop at the pit he could cook anything. Keith looked forward to and enjoyed planning and preparing our weekly Thursday night dinners at our family homestead. Keith had a very spiritual, compassionate, and loving heart. He was a forgiving man and always the first to ask for forgiveness. He dearly loved his friends and family and reached out to them constantly. He also lovingly cared for our sweet Mom until her death last September. We will all miss his reminders to check out a beautiful full moon or an incoming storm as well as his nightly calls and texts wishing us goodnight. Keith is preceded in death by his Mother Charlyne Schmidt, Father Howard Schmidt, and his younger sister, Rebecca Jean Schmidt Ray. He is survived by Step-Mother Marty Schmidt, Brother, Randy Schmidt, and wife Becky; Sister Debbie Parsley, and husband Blayne; Twin Sister Kerry McFarland; Sister Lisa Moseley, and husband Philip, Step-brother Greg Kieschnick and wife Laura, and Step-sister Beth Patterson and husband Sam. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews that he loved deeply. We know Keith would want us to mention his life-long friends Jill Jackman, Kathi Girod, Jay Ledbetter, James Guerrero, Scott Witter, Larry Blalock and especially David Reneau for their true friendships throughout his life. Keith's unapologetic sense of humor and loving spirit will stay with us forever. Visitation will be Monday, June 22nd from 5 pm to 7 pm at Cook-Walden Funeral Home 6100 N. Lamar, Austin, Tx 78752. Services will be held Tuesday, June 23rd at 11:00 a.m. at Calvary Worship Center, 14901 Burnet Road, Austin, Tx 78728. Graveside Services will be at Austin Memorial Park Cemetery 2800 Hancock Drive, Austin, Tx 78731

Published in Austin American-Statesman on Jun. 21, 2020.