Feb. 23—TRAVERSE CITY — A giant in the real estate industry left a huge void among family and friends as well as colleagues and competitors with his sudden death earlier this week.

Ken Schmidt, CEO of the Schmidt Family of Companies — the parent company of Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realtors — died Monday in Florida.

Schmidt, 78, was part of the fourth generation to work at the real estate brokerage firm founded by Harold F. Schmidt in 1927.

Schmidt joined his father, Joseph, and brother, Fred, in the family business in 1968. The trio helped the company become one of the largest brokerage firms in the Midwest.

Coldwell Banker Schmidt brand has more than 90 offices across Michigan, northeast Ohio, Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to the company website.

Coldwell Banker Schmidt added Elite Sotheby's International Realty in Pepper Pike, Ohio, and also has Century 21 Schmidt Real Estate in Venice, Fla. The company has more than 2,000 agents and broker associates and in 2021 posted an annual sales volume of $5.521 billion from almost 20,000 closed transactions (buying and selling), according to the company website.

Ken Schmidt's bio also notes that he was the two-term past president of the Traverse Area Association of Realtors, the forerunner to Aspire North Realtors. He was the former TAAR Realtor of the Year and had National Association of Realtors' Green Certification — as well as a handful of professional acronyms to his name.

"Ken Schmidt was a kind and thoughtful man, in addition to being a leader in our industry," Aspire North Realtors CEO Kim Pontius said in an email statement. "His legacy will be in the business that he built with his family and the many lives he touched in this community, including mine."

"He is like a Traverse City institution," Home Builders Association of the Grand Traverse Area Executive Director Lauren Tucker said after hearing the news of Schmidt's death on Wednesday. "That one hits real hard."

"He was so good at it," Tucker said of his real estate acumen. "He had a way of connecting people. He had a passion for it and was one of those people who was kind of magnetic."

Mike Schmidt, president of the Schmidt Family of Companies, said the person his father was never overshadowed the businessman.

"First and foremost he was a great dad, grandpa and a friend to so many," Mike Schmidt said in an email statement after consultation with his two sisters. "He just happened to be an owner of a fifth-generation real estate company which was the largest Coldwell Banker in the world, spanning over 40."

"He was an incredible individual," said Bruce Rogers, who made Schmidt-Rogers Management into one of the largest property management companies in northwestern Michigan with his son, Michael, and Ken and Mike Schmidt. "He put his priorities in order. God and his church was No. 1. Family and (his wife) Karen was No. 2 and his business was No. 3."

"He was a visionary and an entrepreneur," added Tom Menzel, who played football at Traverse City Central and Valparaiso University with Ken Schmidt. "He always surrounded himself with great people."

Ken Schmidt died of complications from a head injury sustained while playing pickleball.

"He never looked better; that was the disappointing part," Mike Schmidt said. "He's probably as healthy as he's been.

"God wanted him up in heaven I guess."

Ken Schmidt had recently returned from a trip to Australia and New Zealand with Tom and Fran Menzel.

Tom Menzel — the former Grand Traverse County administrator and executive director of the Bay Area Transportation Authority and National Cherry Festival — said it was something that was on both of their bucket lists.

Menzel said he and Schmidt first met in eighth grade and have remained close through the years.

It also made it "a real shock" when he learned of Schmidt's death. Menzel said he praised Schmidt during their trip about his 40-pound weight loss and how well his friend looked because of it.

"It's rare to have long-term friendships, but we always maintained a close friendship," Menzel said of the former all-state tackle. "I lost a great big part of my life, but I have a lot of wonderful memories of what a friendship should be."

"It's a tragedy," Rogers added.

"He was enjoying life, which he should," Mike Schmidt said.

While Ken Schmidt was extremely successful at business in general — and real estate specifically — several people mentioned that it was the way he handled his professional and personal affairs that made him special.

Menzel said this 2015 member of the Traverse City Central Hall of Fame was a contributor to community causes.

"Ken was very humble," Rogers said. "I never heard anybody speak negatively about him, whether they were competitors or on his team."

Mike Schmidt said the "hundreds of calls, emails and texts" he has received this week from people all over the country speaks volumes about his father.

"He was so well-respected in our business because he was known as a really happy, positive, kind and compassionate man, who just happened to have a lot of success in a business he loved," Mike Schmidt said in an email.

"He was extremely proud of his company and more so in those he worked with. But, he was even more proud of his kids and grandkids. His connection to faith was his rock and he is now looking upon us from heaven with so much joy and thankfulness in his heart and he is now able to spend time with our brother who died before him as an infant and his siblings, parents and friends."

Menzel said he and Schmidt share an approach to life, which frequently was a topic of a conversation between the two. Menzel said it will be part of Ken Schmidt's legacy.

"We had a similar philosophy to leave the very best footprints we can," Menzel said. "And Ken left very good footprints for others to emulate and follow in his life."

Ken Schmidt grew up in Traverse City and graduated from Central High School in 1962 and Valparaiso University in 1966. Mike Schmidt said his father went to law school for a year, but decided to join the family real estate business in 1968.

Mike Schmidt said his father had let some of the people around him handle more of the day-to-day business, but he was still active in the industry.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date, he said. Reynolds Jonkhoff Funeral Home and Cremation Services is handling arrangements.