| Notes |
- Ethel Schwengel, widow of former Congressman Fred Schwengel, died of a heart attack on August 30, 2011, in Arlington, Virginia, at the age of 102.
Clara Ethel Schwengel was born on August 6, 1909, on the family farm near Purdin, Missouri. She was the daughter of Frank and Miriam Cassity. After attending a rural school, she graduated from Purdin High School in 1927. In 1932 she graduated from Truman State University which at the time was known as Kirksville State Teachers College.
While a student, she married Frederic Schwengel on August 15, 1931, at Unionville, Missouri. Following graduation she and her husband lived in Kirksville where Mr. Schwengel was a high school teacher and coach.
After the Schwengels moved to Davenport, Iowa, Mrs. Schwengel was a physical education director there from 1943-46. She was member of the PEO in Davenport and later in Washington, D.C. In Davenport she was also a member of the Iowa Chapters of Eastern Star and Daughters of the Nile, the Alpha Sigma Alpha Social Sorority and the Calvary Baptist Church, where she was an active member. She was a member of the Scott County Girls Scout Council and was a Chairman Emeritus of the YWCA Board there.
In 1944 her husband was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives and in 1954 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives where he served from 1955 to 1965 and from 1967 to 1973. Mrs. Schwengel joined the Congressional Club in 1955 and remained a member until her death. During the years she lived in Washington area she was also a member of the PEO (Chapter AD of the District of Columbia).
During the years that her husband was in public office, Ethel Schwengel was a strong presence in public life as well. She campaigned for her husband, but was even more important as a calm influence in keeping the Schwengel household in hand. She was a gracious and wonderful hostess, often responding to last minute calls from her husband about some additional people for the dinner table. During their years in Washington, D.C., the Schwengels hosted “Week in Washington” college students for many years. She supported her husband’s efforts to collect antiques and Abraham Lincoln memorabilia, always arranging for it to be appropriated displayed in the Schwengel house.
Throughout their 61 years of marriage Ethel and Fred Schwengel had a large extended family. They raised two children, Frank and Dorothy. But, immediately after marrying, their home became home to Fred’s brother Forrest and sister Helene. Then Fred’s widowed Mother, Margaret, joined the household. Later Ethel’s Mother was with them. Following World War II the Schwengels opened their home in Davenport to eleven displaced persons from Poland, helping them learn the English language, find jobs and become US citizens.
In 1966 their grandson Robert Schwengel joined the household. When he left for college in 1978, it was the first time in 48 years of marriage that Ethel and Fred Schwengel were without extended family in their household.
After Mr. Schwengel left Congress in 1973, Fred and Ethel continued to make their home in Arlington, Virginia. Mrs. Schwengel was active in the work of the Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. She was a member of the Women’s Missionary Union, the Lucia Green Circle and of the Washington Baptist Fellowship. She was active in supporting the work of the US Capitol Historical Society which her husband headed until his death in 1993. She was a member of the Honorary Board of the Society. The lifetime Schwengel collection of Abraham Lincoln memorabilia was donated to Truman State University as the Fred and Ethel Schwengel Collection. In 1998 Ethel Schwengel received the President’s Leadership Award from Truman State University.
In 1995 she participated in the ceremony that named the Interstate 80 bridge near Davenport, Iowa, as the Fred Schwengel Bridge.
Mrs. Schwengel was an accomplished bridge player and played regularly past the age of 95. In 1995 Mrs. Schwengel left her home of 37 years in Arlington, Virginia, and moved to the Jefferson, a retirement community at Ballston, Virginia.
Ethel Schwengel is survived by two children, Frank D. Schwengel (and his wife Gwen) of Santa Monica, California and Dorothy S. Cosby (and her husband Neale) of Alexandria, Virginia. In addition, Mrs. Schwengel had five grandsons (Robert Schwengel, Cameron Cosby, Scott Cosby, Kris Schwengel, and Kurt Schwengel) and nine great grandchildren (Riley, Caitlin, Elizabeth, John, Kane, Cole, Blaine, Leia, and Woody).
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1909 - 2011 (102 years)
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