In Memoriam | David Schmillen, 1947-2025

||| FROM INGRID MATTSON |||

David Schmillen, born September 14, 1947, passed away December 29, 2025. He was a member of our Orcas Island community beginning in the early 1970s and was always a character, literally.

In 1971 he performed in the Orcas Players Man Who Came to Dinner and continued performing throughout the decades. In 1973, he was in Harvey. In 1974 he performed as the villain Mortimer Frothingham in Pure as the Driven Snow; he was then in A Christmas Carol in 1975, Fantasticks in 1978, The Drunkard: The Fallen Saved in 1980, A Child’s Christmas in Wales in 1982, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest in 1983, The Real Inspector Hound in 1985, The Lion in Winter in 1986, Requiem for a Heavyweight in 1987, Tartuffe (starring) in 1988, The Shawl and Lone Star in 1990, Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1992 . In 1993 he portrayed Colonel Melkett in Black Comedy, The Islands Sounder declaring his voice booms with the force of a trained actor, and, once again, islanders are treated to a performance by a man who puts guts and soul into every line. He had a brilliant mind and a talent for set-building and construction, contributing so much to Orcas Island.

An avid reader, David bequeathed his possessions (including an extensive collection of valuable books) to the Orcas Island Library. Any proceeds from the sale of the books will support library operations, collections, and programs. Books will be available for purchase at the Friends of the Orcas Island Library lobby store in the library, at the annual Library Fair, and online via
the Friends Ebay store. (But don’t tell David about the new-fangled way the Library Friends get rare books to collectors these days; he apparently was quite put out when the Library dropped the card catalog and went electric.)