Joseph Richard "Joe" Schnitz, age 57 Years, of Columbia City, Indiana and formerly of Huntington County, passed away Wednesday, February 21, 2024 at Stillwater Hospice in Fort Wayne with his wife by his side. Born November 10, 1966 in Huntington, he was the son of Richard Daniel and Mary (Kimmel) Schnitz.

Growing up in Huntington, Joe was baptized at the First Brethren Church and graduated from Huntington North High School with the Class of 1985. During his high school years, Joe began working at a gas station. He had a career as a machinist and tool and die maker for various companies including UTC/Dana in Andrews, Presidential, Schuler Precision Tool in North Manchester, Foil Die, PHD and Oakview Tool/ Kyoscra SGS Precision Tool & Medical.

Due to his declining health, Joe retired in 2023 as a Process Engineer. After meeting Arline Tripp online in 1998, Arline moved from Connecticut and the two were married on February 27, 2000. They moved from Andrews to Urbana until making Columbia City home in 2018. Joe enjoyed reading SciFi and fantasy books, taking long drives with Arline where they would take photos of nature, eagles, and hot air balloons.

Joe is survived by his loving wife and best friend, Arline T. Schnitz; mother, Mary Schnitz; sister-in-law, Gloria Tripp Levine; brother-in-law, Wayne J. Tripp; grand-niece, Alexis Levine; grand-nephew, Mark Levine, Jr.; cousins, Thomas Kimmel, Tyler Kimmel, Susan Kimmel, Sally Kimmel, Sandy Kimmel Shoemaker and Sara Kimmel Schnepp; and several additional nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father, Richard Schnitz in 1999; and cousin, Timothy Kimmel.