Alan Carl Schildwachter

Alan Carl Schildwachter

May 5, 1961 – August 14, 2023

Alan Carl Schildwachter, age 62, passed away suddenly from cardiac arrest on August 14, 2023.  Alan entered this world on the same day history was made when Astronaut Alan Shepherd circled the Earth from space May 5, 1961. Alan was born in Orlando, Florida and grew up in College Park with his brothers and sister attending St. Charles Catholic School, Robert E. Lee Junior High, and Edgewater High School (Class of 1979) where he played trumpet in the band.  In 1981, Alan was one of the first graduates of Full Sail University when it opened its campus in Orlando.  This background eventually helped to launch his 34-year career as an Entertainment Technician at Walt Disney World.  Over the years, Alan oversaw the audio and other technical needs for such venues as Mickey’s Birthday Land; Legend of the Lion King; Who Wants to be a Millionaire; Lights, Motors, Action; Beauty and the Beast; and at the time of his death, Alan was the Magic Kingdom Audio Crew Chief.  One of his most frequent and notorious responsibilities throughout the years was assisting the Tinkerbell launch from the tallest tower of Cinderella’s Castle. In 2022, Alan expanded his areas of expertise by graduating from Seminole State College of Florida with an Associate of Science degree in Network Systems Technology, specializing in Security and Visualization.

Alan met his wife Lori when they were both in high school (at rival schools). After more than 10 years of friendship their relationship blossomed into a lifelong love, marriage, and family with the births of their two daughters, Evie and Lesy.  They had just celebrated their 33^rd wedding anniversary in June and were only two days away from a long-awaited trip to England when he passed.

Alan was an avid Formula One enthusiast as well as a dedicated soccer fan, often getting up very early in the morning to watch races and matches from all over the world.  He also enjoyed the Tour de France, and horseracing.   Alan excelled at all kinds of games and was a trivia aficionado who enjoyed many hours of the Game Show Network and Jeopardy. He also had a special talent for finding obscure movies and tv shows for his family to watch.  Alan discovered a talented cooking through his first job at Gabriel’s Sub Shop in College Park. He not only became an excellent home chef, but also a fearless baker. (His most recent project was creating sour dough bread from scratch.) He was a gardener, mechanic, home repair expert, peace-maker, wisdom dispatcher, and cat lover. But most of all Alan was the perfect loving husband, father, brother, son, and friend.  His sudden death was a shock to all and he is deeply missed.

Surviving Alan are his wife, Lori (Brown) Schildwachter; daughters, Evangelene and Elizabeth (Timothy Estep); Alan’s parents, Fred and Carmela; siblings Steve (Andrea), Ric (Linda), Mark, and Mary Linhart (Chris); sister-in-law Linda O’Keefe (Dan); his aunts Johanna Gaitley and Carolyn Obrigkeit of Maryland, many nieces, nephews, and cousins, as well as his devoted dog Harry.

Funeral service for Alan will be held at Reformation Lutheran Church, 800 East Michigan Street, Orlando, Florida 32806 on Tuesday, September 5, 2023 at 7 p.m.  We are also planning an exuberant Celebration of Life in mid-September with details forthcoming on Facebook.

We ask that in lieu of flowers, you consider having a tree planted through The Trees Remember (https://TheTreesRemember.com) Each tree will be a memorial to Alan and is planted in the state of your choosing.