Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN
Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
SCHWEITZER, Charles Richard
SCHWEITZER, Charles Richard. (Hannibal, MO, Feb. 7, 1923--Dubuque, IA, Apr. 12, 2014). The son of Samuel and Rosa (Jackson) Schweitzer, Charles graduated from Hannibal High School in 1940 and attended Hannibal LaGrange College, Iowa State University, and the University of Missouri. In 1944 he graduated from the University of Missouri in 1944 with a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering and membership in Pi Tau Sigma and Tau Beta Pi, both honorary scholastic engineering fraternities.
Charles entered the US Navy in 1943 and was commissioned an officer in the USNR at Annapolis in 1944. He served on Navy minesweepers in the Pacific, losing a YMS-47 to a mine explosion in Borneo.
On January 31, 1945, he married Mary Edith Cox, his high school sweetheart, in Hannibal, Missouri. They had three daughters; Constance, Deborah, and Pamela.
Charles joined the JOHN DEERE DUBUQUE WORKS in December 1946 in the Industrial Engineering Department. In 1952, he was appointed supervisor of that department. In 1954, he was transferred to the Deere Dubuque Navy Aircraft Landing Gear facility where he served as division superintendent.
In 1957, he and his family were sent to Mannheim, Germany, where he spent a year as an engineering consultant at the Deere/Lanz plant. Returning to Dubuque, he was assigned Production Superintendent (1958) and Mechanical Superintendent (1962) at the Dubuque Works. Charles was subsequently promoted to Manager of Manufacturing and Plant Engineering. He held this position during the rapid plant expansion of the 1970s. After 38 years of service, he retired in March 1984.
Mr. Schweitzer was a Charter Member of the Junior Achievement Program in Dubuque and was responsible for obtaining the organization's first operating facilities. He served on numerous JA assignments, including a term as president.
In 1954 Charles and his family became members of FIRST CONGREGATIONAL UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST. He served as moderator, trustee, and deacon at various times. In 1972, he was chair of the Trustees and actively supported and oversaw the addition of the education wing. After retirement, he joined a church group of retirees, known as Spruce Up and helped maintain and up-grade the Church buildings and property.
---
Source:
Obituaries. Telegraph Herald, April 14, 2014 and Dubuque Today by the Dubuque Advertiser.