In Memoriam

 

November 2, 1924 - April 24, 2005

 

William Frederick Schwiesow, the youngest son of Frederick W. and Martha Henrietta (Polenz) Schwiesow, was born at Chamberlain, South Dakota on November 2, 1924.  He was raised on a farm about eight miles northeast of Chamberlain. He attended elementary–grades 1 through 8–at West Point School District in Brule County, South Dakota.  It was also known as the Schwiesow school for two reasons–1) the land on which the school was located had been donated by his Grandfather and 2) most of the students were from Schwiesow families located in that area.  For topographical reasons, it was not possible to build the School facilities in the normal location and have reasonable access by cars traveling the available roads. 

Upon completion of the elementary grades, he enrolled at Chamberlain High School and completed the Course of Study as prescribed by the Board Education for the High School Department.  He received his Diploma at Chamberlain, South Dakota on the 21st day of May 1942 

After about one year working on the farm, he volunteered for the draft and was inducted into the Army of the United States at Fort Crook, Nebraska on 13 Jan 1944.  He reported for active service at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on February 3, 1944.  He began Basic training at Fort Benning with the Army Specialized Program.  This program was closed out and he was assigned to the 1272 Combat Engineer Battalion  at Camp Carson (now Fort Carson) Colorado early in March of 1944.  After completing training, the unit departed from Boston on 10 Nov 44 arriving in Glasgow, Scotland on 18 Nov 44.  While in Europe the unit was designated the 1st Battalion of 393 Engineer Regiment.  Shortly after hostilities ceased in Europe, the 393 Regiment was ordered to Arles, France to prepare for duty in the Pacific.  The day before the scheduled departure date, the  first A–bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, and the departure date was changed.  The new date was 19 Aug. 45, and the Regiment returned to the United States on 29 Aug, 45.  His father had died a few days before his unit was shipped overseas so, after a short stay to get things in order, he received a dependency discharge at the Grade of Technical Sergeant.  While in Europe he participated in the Rhineland campaign (Battle of the Bulge) and Central Europe military campaign.

On April 3, 1947, he married Lorraine Verda Peterson. He continued his schooling at South Dakota State University, where on June 5, 1950 he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agricultural Engineering. He also became a member of Phi Kappa Phi at SDSU on April 13, 1950. He continued his education at the University of Illinois, earning a Masters of Science in Agricultural Engineering on June 15, 1957. On May 19, 1966, he earned his PhD in Agriculture and Applied Science from Oklahoma State University.  Along the way he managed to raise seven children.

He began his career working on his father's farm and then on his own farm.  He then worked for three years for the Soil Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  He spent approximately the next 13 years as a professor at Texas Tech University and the University of Maryland.  For the last 17 years of his career, he worked in a variety of capacities for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

He is survived by his wife Lorraine, his seven children - Carolyn, David, Brian, Barry, Wayne, Kenneth and Lucy,  nine grandchildren - Kirsten, Paul,  Erin, Marc, Brandon, Rachel, Scott, Ashlie and Emily,. and one great grandchild - Alexander.