To the editor:

The Jayhawk Nation has lost one of its premier citizens in Otto Schnellbacher. His name will live on in the stadium’s ring of honor; his picture and sports resume will forever be a part of the KU and Kansas Sports Hall of Fames; and his youthful face will continue to smile from the sports murals in the Adams Alumni Center. But you can find his fingerprints oh-so-many more places: the St. Lawrence Student Center, the Phog Allen statue, decades of support for the Williams Fund (always fundraising, organizing) and always for the university community he loved.

K-Club, ’48 Orange Bowl Reunions, the Topeka Jayhawk Club, Shawnee County and state KU Alumni – always there, always helping and always faithful to KU. Lately, he was active in getting the KU Gold Medal Club to take a leadership role in funding scholarships for the Marching Jayhawks. And toward the end, even as he slept much, he woke up several times the night of March 1 to check on the KU-K-State score.

In addition to working for KU, Otto was involved in all sorts of other charitable work in Topeka. What a great ambassador for our university! What a role model for KU athletes and alumni! And for those of us who knew him, what a terrific friend!

I’d ask all those who love KU to say a quick prayer or think a kind thought about Otto Schnellbacher. And if Otto were here, he’d say “thank you,” and then ask you to also send a check or do some work for the university he so loved.

Larry Tenopir,
Topeka