Community remembers Kari Kron Schmitz

Kari Kron Schmitz understood that to do good, you only needed two things: a strong work ethic and a servant’s heart.

In 2008, along with her husband, Tad Schmitz, she founded Bears Who Care, a nonprofit that delivers books and teddy bears to Central Florida children who have been affected by an illness, injury, disaster or financial hardship.

Since then, the Schmitzes’ impact has been immense. By 2023, Bears Who Care had distributed books and bears to more than 28,000 children. And the 2023 edition of the organization’s signature event — the OktoBEARfest Fun Run & Walk in Horizon West — raised more than $32,000 in just its sixth year.

For the past seven months, Kari stayed true to the mission while fighting her own battle with leptomeningeal disease, a rare lung cancer. She died Saturday, Jan. 20, at 57.

“Our beloved Kari Kron Schmitz passed away peacefully … with her husband, Tad, by her side,” family representatives wrote in Kari’s CaringBridge online journal. “In her final weeks, Kari felt the outpouring of love offered by this community of dear friends and family.”

Her legacy can be found — and felt — all over Central Florida.

AN INSPIRED LIFE
“Kari and Bears Who Care are an inspiration,” said her friend, Heather Easterling. “They helped create so many happy memories for the kids receiving those books and those teddy bears. What child would not want to receive a teddy bear and a book? I think having access to books and teddy bears is just fundamental to everyone’s childhood, and the fact that Bears Who Care took that as their mission and provided that to these children in need … made a huge impact on our community.”

When starting Bears Who Care, Kari Schmitz took inspiration from her parents, Jon and Nancy Kron, both teachers, and Tad Schmitz’s grandfather, Ted Schmitz.

The Schmitzes started with 50 bears and 50 books. Through hard work and a relentless drive, Kari expanded the reach and power of the organization through events, fundraisers and community engagement, including reading to children in local schools.

“We have huge hearts for children and wanted to find a way we could touch the lives of those in need while also honoring our family,” she told the Observer in 2018. “We look forward to this journey and hope to bring happiness, comfort and education to young lives in our community.”

The organization is best known for the OktoBEARfest event, which started in 2018. 

“She was always the one to charge ahead, and she really established the first one to establish any kind of a race over here in Hamlin,” said Horizon West Happenings CEO Stephanie Lang, who developed a friendship with Kari Schmitz through her company’s sponsorship of the foundation. “She was just amazing, so passionate and driven, and the amount of energy and just work that she put into this event every year was absolutely amazing.”

In just six years, the run has raised nearly $150,000 for Bears Who Care, including a record-breaking $32,000 in 2023 and $24,000 in the COVID-challenged 2020.

“It’s just been so great to see that race grow over the last five, six years now,” Lang said. “(More than) 500 families come together, along with sponsors like us, who are happy to be there to meet and connect with so many smiling faces. People look forward to this every year. … It’s amazing what she’s been able to do and how many people she’s been able to bring together to support children here in the area.

“She was a voice for the children in our community who fought for them,” she said. “With Bears Who Care, she had a mission, and she did everything she could to get proceeds to help the kids get their teddy bears and their books, because she wanted them to have that comfort and inspiration.”

‘FIRE IN HER EYES’
Beyond her incredible drive, Kari Schmitz’s kind heart was evident to those who spent any time with her. 

“She was just lovely; she was vibrant, kind and funny,” Easterling said. “She just had this fire in her eyes, she was full of light. Tenacious. When she had a goal, she just went forward, and she got it done. She was such a good friend. … She just touched me in a very special way. She was just very strong and a huge asset to our community.”

Lang agreed.

“She just had a very contagious energy,” she said. “So when you were around her, you just felt her energy and her strength and passion. The amount of work that she put into this event and (the) charity was incredible — and it was all volunteer work. It was really important to her to do this work with her daughter, to bring her daughter into this and for her daughter to see how important it is to have that servant’s heart and to do good in the community. Kari did this side-by-side with her daughter, Gwen. … To watch their relationship strengthen over that was so beautiful to see.

“But that’s just the effect she had on people,” Lang said. “She just had such a good heart. She was always reaching out and checking if there was anything that she could do to help. She was just a person who cared about everybody. … She was one of those people who just made your life better.”

Kari Schmitz’s work and memory will live on through her family, her friends and Bears Who Care.

“She was just a remarkable person,” Easterling said. “She was so important to us — both professionally and personally. Her legacy will continue on, and we’ll help it continue. She’ll be missed more than words describe.”

THE AVENGER
Kari Schmitz titled her first CaringBridge journal entry chronicling her cancer battle, “And the Adventure Begins …”. And for a photo, she chose a triumphant pose with Marvel’s Dr. Strange.

“As you know, I always try to find the meaning and positive in these life-changing moments, and one meaningful outcome is for all of you to be reminded of how amazing it is to be alive and to be grateful for everyone and everything that is special to you,” she wrote. “Hold your loved ones tight, hug them and tell them you love them every day, because you can never hear it enough!”

Throughout her journal, Kari Schmitz chronicled her adventure, which included specialists at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, a visit to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, chemotherapy, countless scans, proton therapy, experimental drugs and then a terminal diagnosis in December.

“The most difficult news for me to share with you is that I have been advised that my prognosis is terminal,” Kari Schmitz wrote in her final journal entry. “Without any treatment, my life expectancy could be one to three months, and with the proton therapy, it could be six to 12 months. However, with the experimental treatment, it could be extended longer, possibly into multiple years. I am realistic and understand this is not a life-saving treatment, but there is a 30% to 40% chance it will help shrink the Death Star tumor and give me more time. I am sure it comes as no surprise that I am a risk-taker, and I want any chance I can have to more quality time with my family and friends!”

Less than a month later, Tad Schmitz wrote that his wife’s cancer had begun impacting her physical and mental function. But even then — and perhaps more than ever — she was an inspiration.

“Kari is an example of the importance to live your best life today,” he wrote. “We never know what tomorrow will bring. We are an unfortunate example of how your tomorrow can unexpectedly change pretty rapidly. So hug your loved ones a little tighter and go live your best life TODAY! That’s what Kari would want for you.”

A celebration of life ceremony will take place Sunday, Feb. 25, in Winter Garden.