William Swarens

Sometimes the most remarkable of lives can unfold quietly and close to home. William J. Swarens, who died at age 94 on Friday in Lawrenceville, led such a life, although he would have insisted there was nothing remarkable about him. Born March 30, 1918, as World War I still raged across the fields of Europe, Swarens never lived anywhere outside of his native Lawrence County. In fact, most of his life unfolded in a single block of North 10th Street near Lawrenceville High School, first in his parents' home and then next door for six decades in his own. Through most of those years, he worked hard - very hard - to meet his family's needs, to love his wife, to nurture his children, and to serve his church and community. What was remarkable in any of that? Consider two words: sacrifice and commitment. Like many men who came of age in the 1930s, Swarens saw his own avenues of opportunity limited by the Great Depression. When he graduated from Lawrenceville High School in 1936, the national unemployment rate averaged nearly 17 percent. But he found a job - which paid $1 a day - in a hardware store on the town square in Lawrenceville. It was the start of decades of grueling work, during which he often held down two or three jobs at once, freely sacrificing his own comfort and leisure for his family's future. In 1938, with average unemployment at 19 percent, he married a young woman named Jean Crum from Mount Carmel, Ill. Their marriage would last for more than 68 years, until her death in 2007. Together, they raised six children - Bill, Kay, Mike, Louise, Tony and Mark. In time, 13 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren would follow. Together, William and Jean Swarens also modeled a lifetime of sustained commitment to one another and to their family. To pass by him as he worked in his garden, to sit beside him in church, William Swarens may have seemed like just another ordinary man. But the extraordinary can be obscured by its packaging. It was in fact a remarkable life - a life of deep sacrifice and sustained commitment - that ended early Friday morning with William J. Swarens' passing. A memorial service is planned for 11 a.m. Tuesday at First Christian Church, 1407 State St., Lawrenceville. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Lawrence County Senior Citizens or the Salvation Army.

Memorial Service

JUN 5. 11:00 AM (CDT)

First Christian Church 1407 State Street Lawrenceville, IL