Swartzendruber, Frederick James (1924-2004)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2005 Feb 7 p. 8

Birth date: 1924 Aug 17

text of obituary:

FRED SWARTZENDRUBER

Frederick James Swartzendruber, 80, of Pleasant Lake, Mich., and formerly of Sarasota, Fla., died Nov. 30, 2004. He was born Aug. 17, 1924, to Frederick and Ella May (Augsburger) Swartzendruber in rural Delevan, Ill.

He graduated from Goshen (Ind.) College and the University of Illinois Medical School.

At the University of Illinois he set a Big Ten record in distance running. He completed his general surgery residency at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

In 1948 he married Dolce Bell of Toronto. One year later they moved to Puerto Rico, where he was the medical director of a small hospital.

Volunteering his skills as a physician became a mission for him. He provided medical services in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Belize, Honduras and China. He maintained a private surgical practice in Sarasota for 30 years and was a chief of surgical staff at Sarasota Memorial Hospital. He was a compassionate, gentle and skilled physician, highly respected by his patients and colleagues.

After retirement, he and his wife, Dolce, taught English to Spanish- speaking people and helped start a Spanish Mennonite church in Sarasota. They traveled extensively, including many overseas trips. He loved to read and was an avid photographer. Other interests included astronomy, classical music, horticulture and travel.

In later years he suffered a series of strokes. In January 2004 he moved from Sarasota to his daughter's home in Michigan.

Survivors include four children, Frederick D. and his wife, Jann, of Roanoke, Va., Anita Fobes of Pleasant Lake, Mich., Galen P. and his wife, Cindy, of Sarasota, and Stephen J. of Oahu, Hawaii; a brother, John D. Swartzendruber, and a sister, Edith Nafziger, both of Goshen, Ind.; nine grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 50 years, Dolce; and a sister, Esther Glick.

Services were held at Bahia Vista Mennonite Church of Sarasota.