Hopkins Lacrosse Great Jerry Schnydman Dies at 77

October 25, 2021 JMORE Staff

Jerry Schnydman was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2003. (Photo courtesy of Sol Levinson & Bros. funeral home)

A local lacrosse legend, Jerome David “Jerry” Schnydman died Oct. 25 after a long battle with cancer. He was 77.

A Baltimore native and Pikesville resident, Schnydman was a 1967 Johns Hopkins University graduate who played lacrosse there as a student. He then became a fixture on the Homewood campus for nearly four decades, working in in undergraduate admissions, alumni relations and in the president’s office.

Schnydman served as executive assistant to the president and secretary of the board of trustees from 1998 until his retirement in June of 2012.

“There was simply no one like Jerry Schnydman,” said JHU President Ron Daniels in a statement. “He gave his all to his beloved alma mater from the moment he walked onto Homewood Field to the moment he left the President’s Office for the last time. Bringing unceasing optimism and joie de vivre to every situation, Jerry could and would talk to anybody, freely and generously giving his wise counsel to generations of Hopkins students, colleagues, and of course, presidents, including me on occasions too numerous to count. But anybody who knew Jerry knew that his love for Hopkins was only eclipsed by his love for his family.

“Our thoughts are with his wife Tammy, their kids, and grandkids and we will always be truly grateful to them for sharing so much of Jerry with his second family at Hopkins for so long.”

A star lacrosse player and graduate of Baltimore City College High School, Schnydman came to Johns Hopkins in 1963 and was selected as a first-team All-American lacrosse player in 1966 and 1967.

A five-foot-one midfielder who excelled in face-offs, Schnydman served as co-captain of the JHU Blue Jays lacrosse team that won the national championship in 1967, and he was inducted into the Johns Hopkins Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998. He was also a member of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame and the halls of fame for the Greater Baltimore Chapter of the Lacrosse Foundation and Baltimore City College High School.

Schnydman worked in the insurance and pension business for eight years before returning to Hopkins to join the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, working his way from assistant director to director. He then served as executive director of Alumni Relations from 1989 to 1998, and became executive assistant to the president and secretary of the board of trustees.

Over the years, he served on a number of boards of trustees, including The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, Hopkins Hillel, the Central Scholarship Bureau, St. Paul’s School and the Baltimore School for the Arts. He also served as president of Pikesville’s Beth El Congregation.

On the eve of Schnydman’s retirement, the university announced that the atrium of the Brody Learning Commons would become be named the Schnydman Atrium in his honor.

JHU also established the Jerome D. and Tamara Schnydman Fund for Homewood undergraduates of merit who apply for financial assistance.

In a statement, the JHU Alumni Association called Schyndman a “true Johns Hopkins legend. … Jerry’s amazing Hopkins career spanned almost 50 years. … Jerry left an incredible legacy at Johns Hopkins and meant so much to our Hopkins family.”

Hopkins Hillel wrote in a statement, “So many of us had the honor of working with Jerry and sharing in the joy of his kindness, his wit and humor, and his deep love for his family and for the Jewish people. May God comfort Tammy, Andy, Becky, and their entire family among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.”

Schnydman is survived by his wife of nearly 55 years, Tamara Tucker Schnydman; his children, Rebecca (Larry) Mossing and Andrew (Nancy) Schnydman; and grandchildren Tucker Mossing, Cassidy Mossing, Chloe Schnydman and Jason Schnydman.

He is also survived by his siblings, Samuel (Thea) Schnydman and Hobie (Milton) Bruckner, as well as cousins, brothers- and sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews and close friends.

A funeral service for Schnydman will be held Thursday, Oct. 28, at 11 a.m. at Beth El Congregation, 8101 Park Heights Ave.

Interment will be at Har Sinai Cemetery, 11373 Garrison Forest Rd. in Owings Mills. Immediately following interment, an outdoor reception will be held in the Pavilion at Beth El Congregation.

Memorial contributions may be directed to the following: The Jerome D. and Tamara Schnydman Scholarship Fund at Johns Hopkins University (hopkinssports.com/Schnydman-scholarship); Beth El Congregation, 8101 Park Heights Avenue, Baltimore, Md. 21208; or the Baltimore School for the Arts (bsfa.org/give).