Bill Schweers

After 78 years of a life very well lived, the spirit of my husband of 53 years, Bill Schweers, graduated from this earthly existence and finally went home on Saturday morning, Aug. 22, 2015.

His life on this planet is over and a new and wonderful existence is about to begin for the kindest, most compassionate, intelligent and honest person I have ever known. He will be missed by so many friends and relatives whose lives he’s touched over the years.

He treated everyone he met with respect, compassion and acceptance. It didn’t matter if you were homeless, poor, rich, LGBTQ, Muslim, Jewish, had mental problems or addictions -- he would accept you as you were and treat you with dignity. He was a Christian in the truest sense of the word.

Bill was preceded in death by our son, Scotty, who left this world at the age of 10, and his parents, Marie and Marvin Schweers. He is survived by our daughter Lora, her husband Mike Nordstrom and our grandchildren Britta and Anders; our daughter Lisa, her husband Matthew Kush, and our grandson Kolton; and our son Chris Schweers.

Bill is also survived by his brother Bob from Wisconsin; his brother John and wife Jackie from Minnesota and their sons Justin, Brian and Andrew.

Bill was born in La Crosse, Wis. on Feb. 22, 1937 and moved to Madison soon after, where he spent the majority of his life. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in economics and went on to become senior vice president of Wisconsin Physician’s Service, a regional health insurance provider, where he worked for about 30 years.

He took early retirement to devote full time to our volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity. He spent nine years as president of the Dane County Habitat affiliate before moving up to Wisconsin State Coordinator for HFH.

Bill was a natural athlete all of his life and was good at all sports and a huge sports fan. He was especially good as a baseball pitcher and started wowing the fans at the age of 10 or 12 when he pitched for Ideal Vault of Madison, Wis. He went on to pitch for the UW, the Susanville, Calif. semi-pro team and was invited to try out for two professional teams, but he decided that wasn’t the lifestyle for him. Instead he married me on Aug. 4, 1962.

We moved to Fountain Hills some 20 years ago and we continued our volunteer work with various agencies until we were asked to start a non-profit thrift store for Save the Family. Then it was full time “playing store” with a group of about 15 incredible volunteers for the next 12 years.

Bill was in charge of moving furniture in and out of the store, picking up donations and delivering purchases -- sometimes very heavy sofa beds to a third floor apartment. He was also always ready to help anyone who came in with a problem. He drove people to the food bank, provided clothes for job interviews, helped to find support and housing for victims of domestic violence or just folks who were homeless, and always had an open ear to listen to people’s problems.

While managing the Thrift Store he also started a no-interest loan program with Save the Family and another with Mesa Community Action Network. He hated the way payday loan companies preyed on poor people with their exorbitant interest rates and wanted to provide a more viable solution for people who needed a small loan due to an unexpected emergency such as a car breakdown or a medical bill. Since they were charged no interest the initial funds could be loaned over and over again.

For the past couple of years, he volunteered with Hospice of the Valley at their Mesa White Dove Thrift Store and helped me care for my 97-year-old mother in our home. He was my hero, my protector, my love, my best friend and the person I most admired.

We will be gathering at The Fountains, a United Methodist Church, in Fountain Hills, at 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, to celebrate Bill’s life. This will be more in the manner of a wake than a funeral. It will be very casual attire (jeans or shorts), your favorite sports jersey or tee, and lots of sharing of stories, good music, and laughter.

Bill always said that he didn’t want a funeral but a party. We ask that instead of flowers you would consider a donation to “Prays Well With Others,” an Interfaith program of The Fountains UMC or to Hospice of the Valley —both groups Bill really loved.