Benedict Schwanda

Benedict Charles Schwanda, 91, of Stafford Springs, CT, passed away peacefully on Monday, August 21, 2006 at Evergreen Health Care Center, Stafford Springs, CT, with family by his side. He was predeceased by his beloved wife of 55 years, Edith (Banar) Schwanda in 1995. Born in Woodside, NY, in 1915, he was the eldest of six children of Benedict and Josephine (Waldmann) Schwanda. Ben was raised in Stafford Springs, CT, where his family owned and operated the B. Schwanda & Sons button manufacturing business originally founded in 1894 by his grandfather in New York City. He graduated from the Mount Hermon School in 1933, and from Colgate University, where he was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity, with a degree in Mathematics in 1937. During World War II, he served with distinction as an army officer in the Pacific Theater in the Philippines and continued to serve in the army reserves until 1950. In his early professional life he and his brothers, Robert and Charles, managed B. Schwanda & Sons, manufacturing pearl buttons at plants in Stafford Springs, CT, Long Island, NY, and Denton, MD, with business offices in New York City. Ben and his family resided for 36 years in Old Greenwich, CT, where he was active in the local home owners' association, the Boy Scouts of America and youth sports. For many years he devoted much of his time as Scout Master of Troop 23, which he helped to form, taking them to the National Scouting Jamboree at Valley Forge, PA in 1957. He was also active in coaching little league baseball. He enjoyed golf, bowling, and fishing, but most of all spending time with his family and working around his home in Havemeyer Park. He later owned his own bookbinding business, Cabrini Binding, also located in New York City. He and his beloved wife, Edie, retired to Suffield, CT in 1984. After Edie passed away in 1995, he moved back to Stafford Springs, where he made many contributions to his boyhood community. Ben was an active volunteer in the Health Information Services Department at Johnson Memorial Hospital, where he received the distinction of Volunteer Emeritus in 2006 with over 1200 hours of service. The department staff remembered Ben as 'an exceptional individual whose smile warms your soul'. He also worked for H & R Block, and AARP assisting the elderly in their annual tax preparations. Ben will be remembered by all who knew him for his devotion to his family, integrity, unfailing courtesy, and concern for others as well as his wonderful sense of self-deprecating humor. A devoted fan of the UCONN girls' basketball team, he always called his family with the game results for 'my girls'. Ben kept in touch regularly with his family and friends with the world's shortest, yet informative, phone calls. He is survived by his sons, Bruce A. Schwanda and his wife Anne of Merritt Island, FL, and Benedict P. Schwanda and his wife Sharon of Leesville, SC; daughters Susan (Schwanda) Tyler and her husband Humphrey of Albany, NY, and Barbara (Schwanda) Morris of Anacortes, WA; six grandchildren; and five great grandchildren. He is also survived by two brothers, Charles W. Schwanda of Stafford Springs, CT, and Alan B. Schwanda of Enfield, CT. He was predeceased by his brothers Robert B. Schwanda of Stafford Springs, CT, and Theodore F. Schwanda of Bridgewater, NJ; and his sister Eugenia (Schwanda) Finnegan of East Greenwich, RI. A memorial service celebrating Ben's life will be held at the Stafford Springs Congregational Church, Main St., Stafford Springs, CT, on Saturday, September 30, 2006 at 1 P.M., with a reception at the church following the service. There will be no calling hours. Memorial contributions may be made in Ben's memory to the Stafford Springs Congregational Church, 3 Main St., Stafford Springs, CT 06076, or to Home and Community Health Services, Inc., 140 Hazard Ave., P.O. Box 1199, Enfield, CT 06082. Introvigne Funeral Home, Inc., 51 East Main St., Stafford Springs, CT, has care of the arrangements. For online condolences, please visit: www.introvignefuneralhome.com

Benedict Schwanda

August 9, 1915 - August 21, 2006