HOOKS, Texas -- Friends and colleagues of Keith Schutte described him Tuesday as a Renaissance man who was comfortable and confident everywhere from the court room to the press box.
Schutte, 56, of Hooks died suddenly Monday night, and his loss will leave a void in the local sports community and at the Bowie County Courthouse, where he has been a bailiff for 202nd District Judge John Tidwell for the last few years. Prior to his job as a bailiff, Schutte was police chief for his home town of Hooks, Texas.
Schutte began his law enforcement career in 1988 and joined the Texarkana Texas Police Department in 1989. He served with TTPD until 1996. His twin brother is current TTPD Chief Kevin Schutte.
Schutte was with Wake Village Police Department prior to becoming Hooks police chief in 2007. He retired from Hooks in 2019.
"I've lost a mentor and a friend," said Hooks Chief Ricky Woodard. "He (Schutte) hired me as a sergeant to work with him. I had known him for years, though."
Woodard said Schutte was a person who "I knew would always answer the phone if I needed him, no matter what he was doing."
Schutte was also passionate about calling sports for Texas High School and was well known in the community as the "Voice of the Tigers" for the last 12 years.
"He just did a little bit of everything," said Tony Kirk with local sports station 107.9 The Fan. "He broadcast sports and was a big auto racing guy. He did some dirt track announcing. He was a real Renaissance guy, kind of a Renaissance redneck," Kirk said with a laugh.
Kirk said Schutte had big shoes to fill when he took over calling the Texas High games from longtime announcer Al Hanna, who had called the games since 1965.
"Keith had to fill the biggest pair of shoes in town, and he did very well," Kirk said.
Schutte was said to always have had a calm manner.
"I'm sure that really served him well in law enforcement," Kirk said.
Fellow broadcast announcer Chuck Zach described Schutte as "passionate about Texas High" and a perfectionist who would show up early for games to make sure everything was ready to go.
Dawn Parker, who was Schutte's supervisor in radio, described him as "the easiest person to work with."
"He loved his job, he loved entertaining the fans and he loved people in general," she said. "He treated everyone like family and he is going to be missed like crazy."
In 2019, Schutte began a new job as a bailiff at the Bowie County Courthouse in New Boston and also for hearings at the Bi-State Justice Building.
"He was in charge of my jurors, and he was the consummate professional," Tidwell said. "Jury duty can be extremely difficult for people, and Schutte always was encouraging to the jurors," Tidwell said. "He kept it light and could get them laughing sometimes. ... He truly was a joy and a great friend of mine."
First Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp, who worked with Schutte at the courthouse, said he "embodied selfless public service."
"Keith loved the communities he served, and our office has heard numerous stories from former jurors who appreciated his calming nature and kind spirit that comforted them during stressful situations encountered in their service.
"Keith was genuine and universally adored. Saying that he will be missed falls far short in describing the enormity of his loss to all of us in law enforcement," Crisp said.
Tidwell said on Tuesday that he had to inform participants in his drug court of Schutte's death and they were upset when they learned the news.
"I told them how proud Keith was of them, and we talked about coping, because that's important for them," he said.
Tidwell also gave them advice on how to honor Schutte.
"I told them to treat people well. To put a smile on someone's face every day because we are not promised tomorrow."
Arrangements are pending with Chapelwood Funeral Home.