Annie Schmidt’s obituary and funeral arrangements were posted on Facebook by the Piano Guys Wednesday morning. Schmidt, who was the daughter of the pianist Jon Schmidt, passed away on Oct. 16, 2016, after a fall while hiking near Munra Point in Oregon.
In the obituary, Annie was described as a compassionate and fun-loving friend. According to the post Annie served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Macon, Georgia and “truly desired to come closer to God.” The post says she loved to write, produce and perform music especially with her brother, Spencer.
"When Annie was 6 years old, she had her first public performance in front of 2,000 people, as a guest vocalist at her dad's concert," the obituary begins. "Any nervousness Annie felt in front of such a large crowd was quickly drowned out by the beautiful, captivating power that music had upon her soul. A breathless pause followed the end of the song, then the crowd erupted. This dynamic of successfully finding the joy, rather than the fear, in every moment played out again and again throughout Annie’s life."
The family also shared the last song she recorded shortly before her passing in an effort to fulfill Annie's dream of sharing her music "with thousands of people."
The post includes a long list of gratitude for people and organizations that helped search for Annie as well as comments Annie’s friends sent in the wake of her passing.
“She always had love radiating around her,” one comment read.
The funeral will be held on Monday Nov. 21 at 11:00 a.m. in the Bountiful Utah Heights Stake chapel (33 North Moss Hill Dr. Bountiful, UT 84010). A public reception will be held at the same address on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Another public reception will be held prior to the funeral from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. The family is asking that donations be made to the El Nino Foundation-Annie in lieu of flowers.
Annie was reported missing on Wednesday, Oct. 19 after she failed to meet her mother at the airport. Her car was found near the Columbia River Gorge and search and rescue teams started looking for Annie in the area. They were unable to find her and the search was called off on Oct. 26. On Nov. 11, Jon Schmidt said in a social media post that dog teams found human remains that were later confirmed to be Annie’s.