On February 4th, 2026, eight days before my 95th birthday, it was my turn to “fly to the stars”, as the French say. I was born February 12, 1931 in Friedensthal, Schleswig Holstein, Germany to Heinrich and Albertine (Wieczoreck) Schwemmer. I had two brothers who preceded me in death, Karlheinz (Rosi) and Ferdinand (Brunhilde). I grew up in Nürnberg, Bavaria where I learned the trade of woodturner, then spent two years in France working in agriculture. The next seven years were spent in Australia working on a cattle farm, railway, gold mine, and glass factory. In 1960 I immigrated to America (Salt Lake City) to make it my permanent home. Here I met my love-on-first-sight, Silvia Bahe. We married in 1961 and together we raised four wonderful children, Michael Schwemmer, Robert Schwemmer, Heidi (Bret) Ehlers, and Rick (Ines) Schwemmer. I worked for 16 years as a sheet metal mechanic at Nu-Art Lighting, and 18 years as a Die-Setter at Varian Eimac. I was active in scouting, the German American Society, and spent ten years as the Bürgermeister at Snowbird’s annual Oktoberfest.

My hobbies were dancing, arts and crafts, photography, water sports and sun-worshipping. As a jack of all trades I left a legacy of a completely remodeled home and a wonderful family. I was the favorite Opa to all my 12 grand- and 19 great-grandchildren, and they brought much joy to my life.

Memorial Services will be on my birthday, Thursday, February 12th at Memorial Mountain View Mortuary and Cemetery, 3115 East 7800 South in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, with a viewing from 9:30-10:45am, and the service from 11:00am-12:00pm. The service will also be live-streamed and recorded for later viewing, with the link available through my obituary at www.MemorialUtah.com.