Hartmut Schiffer, by Holly Richardson

Sept 25, 1925—Sept 27, 2020

I met Hartmut Schiffer in the fall of 2000, the day of the Rose Ceremony. He loved to tell me how I wore a long black dress and curtsied to the class I was about to teach, fresh out of teacher training. Afterwards, he remembers both of us remarking, “I feel as if I have known you before...” Hartmut Schiffer had come to the Waldorf School on the Roaring Fork as a retired Waldorf teacher who had taught from Hanover, Germany, to Washington, DC, Sacramento, CA, and more. He loved to tell how he found the property by the American River in Fair Oaks where that school would find its home. He was a beloved class teacher who also taught German, wood working, math, and more. He found Waldorf when his young daughter, Michaela, needed a school in Munich. He and his wife both became trained Waldorf teachers and his daughter became a eurythmist.

Hartmut had a colorful history. He was in the German navy during WWII and escaped a prisoner of war camp in France. Eventually, he led tours to sacred and historical sites such as Assisi and Chartres. He sold art and would meet Americans; he liked their openness and enthusiasm, and became a US citizen in 1970.

Hartmut enjoyed working with his hands and keeping his mind and body active. Into his 90’s, he walked nearly everyday and would do twelve pushups, squats, and more. He kept a little garden and grew potatoes. Our regular adventures together included walking to the river to sit on a bench and sing. Another favorite outing was going to soak in the Glenwood Hot Springs pool while he philosophized about things spiritual. I would get him to swim laps and try somersaults and handstands under the water.

He kept his mind active by studying anthroposophy and listening to current events. His favorite work was How to Know Higher Worlds; he would order copies to give to other students of anthroposophy. By the time I became his caregiver in 2010, he could no longer read on his own due to diminishing vision. Then, he enjoyed listening to a friend read to him. One of our daily rituals was reading the Calendar of the Soul verses by Steiner. He would say it in German and I would repeat it, then he would translate into English and I would offer another English translation. This was the start of my German lessons that would continue for the next ten years. Eventually, he decided we needed to go to Germany and Switzerland together, to visit friends, sites, and the Goetheanum. We called that our “First Adventure Trip,” and would go on to a lyre conference in Hadley, Mass., to Central City to the Opera, to the Aspen Music Tent, and more.

Waldorf education lived in Hartmut’s consciousness and heart until his last days. We would discuss the happenings of Waldorf education in Carbondale and around the world. He had a particular love for the music of the kinderharp and the lyre. He helped purchase a fleet of kinderharps as well as diatonic lyres for our school, which led to the founding of the Rocky Mountain Lyre Choir. He sent me to lyre conferences in Portland, OR, East Troy, WI, Kimberton, PA, all with the goal of learning how to play and then bringing it home to share with the community. He felt that this music brought peace to the world.

Hartmut was a student of life itself, always interested in the world around him. His knowledge of geography was far superior to mine. We shared many passions: Waldorf, languages, classical music, cappuccinos, traveling, swimming, the river, singing in harmony, to name a few from a long list.

He adopted the community at WSRF, and we adopted him. Among his guardian angels were many families. We often included Hartmut in celebrations. There was a blizzard and Dan, my boys, and I walked to Hartmut’s and picked him up; we continued to walk in foot deep snow to my parents for a Christmas morning together. He was almost completely blind and in his 80’s, but was up for such an outing!

Hartmut had a brother and a sister, both deceased. His daughter, Michaela, lives in Denmark with her family. He has grandchildren and extended family in Germany. He passed peacefully in his sleep on September 27, 2020, three days after his 95th birthday. May gratitude for the gifts he brought us ripple through us for all of our days.