Frederick O. Schweizer '38
Deceased November 26, 2011
(View alumni profile - log-in required)
Read obituary
Frederick O. "Fred" Schweizer
Remembered as a great athlete, Fred returned again and again to a different scenario: Pearl Harbor.
A newly-minted naval officer, he was luckily ashore with his bride, Mary Jo Walton, on Dec. 7, 1941, when the Japanese struck, sinking his ship, the Oklahoma. All in his battle station were killed.
Fred fought at Guadalcanal and the Santa Cruz Islands and later earned Air Medals as a pilot. After the war, he returned twice to Pearl Harbor with family members to remember his fallen comrades at the historic shrine.
He was 95 when he died on Nov. 26, 2011, in Lancaster, Pa., his longtime hometown. His daughter, Susan Hatch, gave infirmities of old age as the cause. But Fred, ever tall, lean and good-looking, was still playing golf well into his 90s.
A Cleveland high school basketball star, Fred fulfilled that promise at Amherst, being voted All-New England guard. He also played football and kept up his grades as an economics and English major to retain a full scholarship. Dartmouth had also wanted him, his daughter said, but Amherst gave him a better deal.
He called those years “most important to me,” and he gave back in full measure. At his death, he had been raising funds for 23 years as class agent and vice president.
Born in Jersey City, N.J., Fred moved to Cleveland as a child. Lancaster became his residence after the war as an employee of the Armstrong Cork Co. He rose to vice president in charge of ceiling and industrial products. Later he was president of Woodstream Corp. and afterward formed a private partnership. He was active on multiple civic boards.
Besides wife Mary Jo, daughter Susan and son Fred Jr., survivors included four grandchildren, three great-grandsons and a niece.
George Bria ’38