Pete Schmidt may have passed away last week, but his impact will be felt for years.

Schmidt passed away on Oct. 27, 2014.

Schmidt, who coached and taught in Pacelli High School from 1965 to 1997, left his mark on plenty of athletes over the years.

Schmidt coached the Pacelli girls track and field team to state titles in 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1977. He coached the Pacelli boys track and field team to state titles in 1983 and 1984. Schmidt was also an assistant coach on the 1992 state champion Pacelli boys basketball team and he gave a hand in many other sports as well.

Norm Blaser, who taught with Schmidt for many years, remembers Schmidt being passionate about being involved in athletics.

“He was included with kids and athletics all of the time. He was a coach true and true,” Blaser said. “If they couldn’t find a coach for a sport, Pete would step up and he was very passionate about Pacelli. He used to say that if he could make chocolate milk green, he would do that.”

Schmidt coached football, cross country and wrestling, and he also coached junior high and youth sports. Schmidt was one of the first inductees into the Pacelli Athletic Hall of Fame.

Schmidt, who graduated from Pacelli in 1953, was well known as a social studies teacher.

“I think the best thing about Pete is that he was a great teacher,” Blaser said. “When his former students and athletes found out he died, there were a lot of tears dropped.”