Walter Swartzer has a special place in his heart for St. Mary of Czestochowa in Franklin Township, where he served as a trustee for 60 years. “My great-grandparents built the church,” he said. Left, Walter Swartzer talks with Bishop Lee Piché after celebrating Mass in honor of Swartzer’s service. Photo by Jennifer Janikula / The Catholic Spirit
By Jennifer Janikula
For The Catholic Spirit
Parishioners at St. Mary of Czestochowa in Franklin Township near Delano honored Walter Swartzer earlier this month for 60 years of service as a trustee.
What inspires such faithful service?
Swartzer’s roots run deep in the history of the parish. “It’s not monetary. I don’t get paid,” he explains. “My great grandparents built the church and it is my job to keep it up.”
In 1952, Swartzer was 26 years old and single. The oldest of 17 children, he knew how to work hard. The parish priest at the time, Father Francis Poplawski, asked Swartzer to be a trustee.
He remembers saying, “Oh Father, I think I’m too busy for that job.” Father Poplawski coaxed, “You can do it. Just try it. There’s really no work involved.” Swartzer laughed and said, “That’s exactly the kind of job I like.”
A few months later, Swartzer married Irene Salonek. Irene’s great-grandparents were also founders of the church. Over the years, she helped Swartzer with many of the trustee duties.
“We managed collections, bank deposits and bookkeeping,” Irene said. “We cleaned, we cooked and we updated cemetery records. About the only thing we didn’t do were the bulletins.”
Quick trips to church
Swartzer was famous for his “quick” trips to church. His five children and eight grandchildren often heard things like: “We just need to swing by church. You can wait in the car, I’ll be out soon” or “It’ll only take a few minutes. We just have a few things to do.”
His daughter, Julie Hecksel, remembers how trips to the Dairy Queen were delayed by her dad’s church chores. “We were so excited to get ice cream, but the church was in between our house and Dairy Queen. So, we’d usually stop at church — just for a few minutes,” Hecksel said with a smile. “There was a lot of waiting in the car over the years.”
“It was never just a few minutes,” said the oldest Swartzer son, David. “One morning, Dad took me over to the church to install a hot water heater. He said it would only take half an hour. Well, eight hours later, the water heater was installed.”
Even the grandchildren remember trips to church. “Grandpa was probably supposed to be baby sitting, but he would take us to the church and we would run around and play while he worked,” said granddaughter Nicole Hecksel.
Swartzer cares deeply for the building and its people. With humble pride, he helped the parish with many projects over the last 60 years.
The installation of an elevator in the new church entryway stands out as one of Swartzer’s favorite parish projects.
“Some parishioners struggled to climb the steep stairway to the entrance of the church,” he said. “Now we have an elevator and a handicap-accessible bathroom. More people will be able to attend Mass.”
Celebrating service
The parish honored Swartzer’s faithful service with a Mass Feb. 5 concelebrated by Bishop Lee Piché and the parish’s pastor, Father Thomas Balluff.
During Mass, Bishop Piché explained that in most parishes, trustees serve a two-year term. The bishop thanked Swartzer for serving 30 terms and added, “Just looking at the church, it’s well-maintained and financially healthy — we owe much of this to Walter.”
His great-grandparents left their legacy in capable hands, he said.
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