Wilbur Swartz

Dr. Wilbur W. Swartz, 97 of Waco and formerly of New Orleans, joined a host of saints including his beloved Myrtis on July 7, 2011.

A celebration of his life will be held 11 a.m. Tuesday, July 12 in the sanctuary of Seventh & James Baptist Church in Waco with the Reverend Dr. Raymond Bailey officiating. A reception and greeting of the family will follow.

Dr. Swartz was born August 8, 1913 in Shawnee, Oklahoma, the 8th and last child born to his loving parents Claudia and Sam Swartz. The 97 years that followed read like several men's lives ~ stage actor of renown, singer, preacher, Seminary professor, writer, speaker, fisherman, furniture refinisher, fine father and devoted husband.

From his 4th grade pageant when he designed his own costume and played the role of "Trash," Wilbur was a thespian in his heart. A tennis player in high school, Wilbur was also drawn to the drama department, which held his interest as he entered Oklahoma Baptist University. There he sang lead for three years in the OBU Men's Quartet, which served as the primary recruiting voice for the university. Wilbur graduated from Baylor University, moving to Waco his senior year to work alongside the heralded Paul Baker as Baker's assistant in the drama department. He graduated in 1937, returning in 1941 for a year of teaching with Baker.

After a stint in the professional life of the theatre on both coasts, the young Swartz arrived at what he believed was a God given moment of decision: "This is not what you ought to be doing." The next semester, he enrolled at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth where he would receive three advanced degrees. World War II interrupted those studies with a tour of duty in the U. S. Army, 1942 to 1946. Returning to Seminary to earn his Doctorate of Religious Education provided more than a degree. A day came when one Leonard Bowden came strolling the campus looking for a minister of music for Ervay Street Baptist Church in Dallas. What Wilbur did not know then was that Mr. Bowden had been hailed by his daughter as he embarked on the task with a hearty admonition to "find one that's rich and good lookin'!" Several years later, Myrtis Bowden would become Wilbur's wife, and he fulfilled at least one of her wishes!

During the five years with Ervay Street Baptist, he was called as pastor to that church, and then moved to Louisiana to accept a faculty position teaching religious drama in the Department of Religious Education at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary where he would serve from 1951 until 1980. Later he would become Professor of Preaching when the Seminary president polled the faculty to ask, "Who is our finest preacher?" The declarations were unanimous. And that was his called life ~ teaching preaching and actually standing in the pulpit, which he also did nearly every Sunday acting as interim pastor to more than 25 churches across Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and Alabama. Many held on to him as long as they could until he would admonish them to find a pastor who could give the "all" needed for that role.

Following Vatican II in 1962, Loyola Seminary in New Orleans reached out to the man teaching preaching at the Baptist Seminary. The Second Vatican Council sought to spark the flames of renewal of preaching in the life of the Catholic Church and Loyola asked Wilbur Swartz to teach their priests to light that flame. He absolutely reveled in the joy and the challenge.

Because the theatre was in his very bones, which never hurt his preaching style either, when his 1961 Sabbatical leave rolled around, he did what most would not ~ stayed put in New Orleans, entering Tulane University as a graduate student in the drama department. That year imparted two things: the Award for Outstanding Actor for his role as Willie Loman in "Death of a Salesman," a role he would later call his "favorite" ~ and a relationship with Tulane that led to many years for Wilbur as leading man of Tulane Center Stage, a professional repertory company through which he became Henry II in "The Lion in Winter," Othello and a host of other Shakespearean roles, Big Daddy in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," Nat Miller in "Ah, Wilderness!," King of France in "All's Well that Ends Well," and numerous other dramatic and comedic roles. In one of many letters nominating him for the OBU Alumni Achievement Award in 1988, it was said of Wilbur, "Dr. Swartz could very well have become a super-star in the secular theatre, on the screen, or both, had he not answered the call of God to give his life and talent to the preaching and teaching ministry."

In addition to following their Daddy across the South to hear him preach and act, daughters Sandra Lynn and Susan Elaine most loved following him into the waters of Lake Pontchartrain, the Gulf of Mexico or Bayou Des Allemands to fish. No one else quite knew how to maneuver to find such a catch and "Daddy" never tired of baiting hooks and teaching technique. How he loved to rev the engine and roar back to shore with wife and girls squealing as the boat smacked the waves hard. When he began to troll for shrimp, his Myrtis would say, "Peter is mending his nets," as they lay scattered at his feet alongside stacks of his students' theses and his own sermon notes.

Following his retirement, Dr. Swartz moved to Waco to be near his daughter Susan's family and to take grandson Evan on "great adventures." But Waco also provided a return to his beloved Baylor. In an interview with him in 1981, Waco Tribune-Herald quoted Swartz as saying, "Being a Baylor fan, I can't tell you how many times I sat on the lakefront [in New Orleans] trying to get the Baylor games on the radio. Oh, I've lived, died, suffered and cried with Baylor," which he continued to do each and every sports season since.

The Tribune-Herald interview was headlined, "Swartz Fills 'Stroller's' Shoes" regarding his roll as The Stroller in "The Towers of the Brazos," the dramatic history of Baylor written by fellow New Orleanean Orlin Corey. According to the article by Bob Darden, The Stroller "needed to be part Greek Chorus, folksy Stage manager (right out of Our Town) and omnipotent guide. It was a tall order." Darden went on to say, "About halfway through the writing, Corey discovered he had been writing the part with that someone in mind, Wilbur Swartz."

During his retirement years in Texas, Wilbur was pleased to sit in the bass section of the Singing Seniors of Baylor from its inception in 1983 under the direction of Dr. Euell Porter. Retirement also gave Swartz the chance to develop and memorize a series of monologues, direct from Scripture, on the lives of David and Peter. These dramatic presentations earned a second career taking Wilbur across the Southland and as far away as the Swiss Alps. Rewarding to him as well were 11 seasons as narrator of the San Antonio Christmas Pageant and three years narrating the Columbus Avenue Baptist Church Easter Pageant in Waco. And he would later write to a friend, "One of my most happy times were the 13 years I was privileged to teach the Men's Bible Class at Seventh & James Baptist here in Waco."

Following his wife, Myrtis' death this February, Wilbur shared a book with daughter Susan called One Thousand Gifts. They wrote to each other at the end of each chapter. At the close of Chapter 8, Wilbur wrote, "Thank you, God, that when life could no longer endure, you took away my lover's pain and now she's at home with you. Thank you that in time our grief will ease and be replaced with pleasant memories. Thank you! Eucharisteo." So it was, and so it shall be.

Dr. Swartz was preceded in death by his wife of 68 years, Myrtis Bowden Swartz; parents, Sam Swartz and Claudia Moore Swartz; six sisters and one brother. He is survived by daughters Sandra Lynn (Sandi) Swartz, daughter and son-in-law Susan and John Cowley of Waco; son and daughter-by-choice James and Linda Kuo of Fort Worth; grandsons Evan Cowley of Austin, Jesus Garcia of Waco, and Peter, William and Nicholas Kuo; and great grandchildren Edgar, Mariana and Lexi Garcia; many beloved Swartz and Bowden nieces and nephews and treasured friends at Seventh & James Baptist Church, the Kim's Friday Night Dinner bunch, and Lakeshore Estates, as well as a couple of life's last great buddies, Jerry Gerhardt and Charles "Chuck" Waggoner.

The family wishes to thank Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center and the fine nurses and aides on the 6th and 5th floors along with Bluebonnet Hospice for tenderness, competence, and encouragement as well as Tom Newsome, David and Kay Pennington, Jerry and Betty Lewis and the members of CrossTies Ecumenical Church who have been so present, so kind. Very special gratitude goes out to Gail Froberg, retired ICU nurse, who became our family for six of Wilbur's last days of life, departing her own life to become a providentially-given angel alongside us, evidencing the words of Jesus, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends."

Wilbur Swartz was a faithful donor to Talitha Koum Institute and Salvation Army who reunited him with his brother, Glenn. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be sent to Talitha Koum, P. O. Box 2202, Waco, TX 76703 or to Salvation Army Fresh Start Center, P. O. Box 268, Waco, TX 76703.