Eileen B. Schwartz

Schwartz, Eileen B., 89, retired homemaker and parent, passed away August 11, 2014. Rosary will be 5:00 p.m., Friday, August 15, 2014, at Downing Lahey Mortuary East, and Funeral Mass will be 10:00 a.m., Saturday, August 16, 2014, at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church. Eileen was born October 1, 1924 in Blackwell, Kay County, Oklahoma. She moved with her father, John Patrick Bonicamp, to Wichita, Kansas in 1935 and lived there until she graduated from Mount Carmel Academy, Wichita, Kansas, in 1942 and went to college. While in high school she was Editor of the school newsletter and a member of Quill and Scroll, the National Honor High School Journalism Society. She attended George Washington University, Washington, D.C., for one year where she was associated with the Chi Omega sorority. She studied advertising, and was a member of the Advertising Club of America. From 1944 until 1947 she attended the University of California at Los Angeles. There she continued her liberal arts education studying English Literature and Theater Arts. She married Veryl Dean Schwartz January 8, 1948 and they settled in Wichita where they raised their family. As her husband, Veryl Dean, pursued his medical career as a family practice physician, Eileen managed the home and took care of the children, including William Dean, born in 1949, John Bonicamp, born in 1951, Elizabeth, and her twin sister Gloria, born in 1955. In addition to maintaining the home, Eileen became involved with various associations and societies, including the Mount Carmel Alumnae Association, the Sedgwick County and the Kansas Medical Auxiliary Societies, the Altar Society of Blessed Sacrament Parish, later the Altar Society of the Church of the Magdalen Parish, the Newman Book Club, the Midwest Historical and Genealogical Society of which she was a Charter Member in 1966, the Wichita Art Association, the Scottish Society of Wichita, and the Mid-America All-Indian Center where she was active in fund raising to help found the center. She was a member of the Art Committee of the Liturgical Commission for the Catholic Diocese of Wichita. She was a volunteer listener for two years for the Wichita Red Cross Hotline. She was a member of the first Wichita committee for the Status of the Handicapped in 1978, and a member of the Blind Athletes Association which she was involved in founding and through which “Beep Baseball” was developed in 1977, a pioneer effort to provide athletic activity for the blind. In 1989 she and her husband were charter members of the newly formed Scottish Society of Wichita. She was a descendant of Clan McClellan. Other social organizations included the Sewing Club, the Knife and Fork Club, and the Agatharian Society. The list of genealogical societies of which she was a member includes the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, National Society Daughters of the American Colonists, National Society of United States Daughters of 1812, National Society Colonial Dames XVII Century, National Society Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims, First Families of the Twin Territories, as well as the Hull Family Association and the Veazey Family Association. In 1968, she received the designation of Dame (the equivalent of knighthood) of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, and in 1977 she was promoted to Dame Commander of the Order. She was preceded in death by her parents, John Patrick Bonicamp and Ruth Bonicamp; her husband, Veryl Dean Schwartz; and granddaughter Emily R. Schwartz. She is survived by her children, William Dean (Debbie) Schwartz, Denver, CO, John B. (Pat) Schwartz, Blue Rapids, KS, Elizabeth A. (Doran) Cole, Rose Hill, KS, Gloria E. Kemper, Emporia, KS; her brother Pat Bonicamp, Denver, CO; grandchildren, Jonathan, Rose, Eileen Lucy and Elizabeth; two great-grandchildren. Downing Lahey Mortuary East is in charge of arrangements. Memorials have been established with: Salvation Army, 350 N. Market St., Wichita, KS 67202; St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, 1321 N. Stratford Ln., Wichita, KS 67206.