By Jim Meridith
Posted: Updated:
5 Comments
    • Service

      Graveside Service
      10AM Wed. March 10, 2021
      Moravian Cemetery
      West Salem, IL

    • Full Obituary

      Samuel H. Swartzbaugh, age 93 of West Salem, IL passed from this life on March 5, 2021 at his home.
      Sam was born in Bone Gap, IL on July 30, 1927 to Walter and Gertrude (Koertge) Swartzbaugh.
      He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Herta, of 48 years and grandson Samuel James Swartzbaugh.
      Surviving are his children, Ted, Francine Ruiz, Brian (Helen), Martin (Marla), Daniel and Bettina (Paul) Carrell, 15 grandchildren, 5 great grandchildren and 1 great-great grandchild.
      Also surviving is a cousin, Loretta Buckles, who was more like a sister to him.
      Sam joined the Coast Guard in 1945 and served on the USS Knoxville, patrolling the mid-
      Atlantic. He enlisted in the Army in 1949 where he served as a mechanic, fuel man, crane operator and medical equipment inspector until 1972. After his retirement from the Army
      he and Herta moved back to West Salem where he lived until his death. Sam worked at Champion Laboratories as well as being a bus driver for the Edwards County School District.
      His hobbies included gardening, working on his vehicles, buying, selling and working with his many Allis Chalmers tractors and telling stories and tales of years past.
      Graveside services will be held at 10AM on Wednesday, March 10, 2021 at the West Salem Moravian Cemetery. Military Rites will be conducted. Memorials may be made to your local VFW.
      Online condolences may be left for his family at www.meridithfuneralhome.com
      Ingram-Meridith Funeral Home of West Salem is honored to be entrusted with the arrangements.

    Condolences are reviewed and published within 24 hours.

    5 Condolences
     
    1. Judy Loudermilk / March 9, 2021 at 4:47 am

      Sorry for your loss. Sam always had a smile when we delivered lunches to him.

    2. Gerd Beyer / March 9, 2021 at 9:31 am

      We are grateful that in this way we can express our condolences to all of the Schwartzbaugh and Carrell families and our sincere sympathy for the passing of the head of the family! It will certainly hurt for a long time to have lost your dear father, grandfather, great-grandfather, great-great-grandfather and uncle. He will always be missing … if, for example, the grandchildren will ask about the grandpa to play, cuddle with or seek consolation with him.
      We, Hanne and Gert Fröhlich, Renate and Gerd Beyer and Ulla Schwellnus were able to meet Sam twice or once in West Salem. We saw a calm, bright and hardworking husband of the unforgettable Herta, helpful and loving to the grandchildren. When he said something, it was short and clear, and sometimes there was also quiet humor, even happiness in his words.
      All of you, as well as we on the other side of the Atlantic, mourn Sam. It may be a consolation and gradually alleviate the pain to know that he has been able to have a proud 93 years of a full life in a happy family and that he was spared serious illnesses.
      We will keep this lovable person in good memory! With quiet greetings from the homeland of Sam‘s ancestors.
      The Fröhlich’s in Augsburg and Bad Rappenau, the Beyers in Ulm and Munich and Ulla Schwellnus!
      On behalf of the German part of Sam’s family
      Gerd Beyer,
      LtCol ret. GEA, PSYOPS

    3. Curtis Ingram / March 9, 2021 at 4:50 pm

      What a pleasure to meet, talk and joke with Sam. He loved to tell those army stories and throw a little extra in to give it all color. He would always look me up and have a nice chat every time he came in the funeral home before he left. Good memories of great times. One of a kind with all the frills.He and Herta got married in the Hidleburg (sp) Castle and I would kid him about getting lost in that enormous place and hooking up with the wrong girl. He made the best of every situation. Great guy.
      You have our sympathy.
      Curtis & Dolores Ingram

    4. Karen Sager / March 9, 2021 at 5:44 pm

      Sorry for the loss of this man that could be gruff at times but he was also loving and full of stories. I enjoyed listening to many over the years that I have known him. So many more stories and information in the last few months, we share a lot in that time. I told him that he reminded me a lot of my dad who was also called Sam. I will miss him and think of him often. Thank you for allowing me to spend time with him and all of you.

    5. Gerd Beyer / May 1, 2021 at 10:45 am

      Additional annex to GERD BEYER above March 9th: 2021:

      Also on behalf of Rolf and Selma Albrecht, Gerda Albrecht and Hans Geiser and wife.
      Gerd Beyer

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