John Schweder

"> John A. Schweder
John A. Schweder, 77, of Bethlehem, died June 9, 2005, in Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg, Bethlehem. Born in Bethlehem, he was the son of the late John L. and Sophia (Kassai) Schweder. His father served as the fire chief of Bethlehem for 28 years. He was married to Mary Lyons. They would have celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary in August. He was a graduate of Bethlehem High School, class of 1945, and held a degree in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, class of 1950. He served in the Army, with service in Korea in 1946. He won eight varsity letters at Bethlehem High School in football, basketball and baseball. He was named an all-state football player in both his junior and senior years. In 1945, as a freshman, he started on the University of Pennsylvania football team that finished eighth in the nation. Upon his return from the service, he starred on the 1947 unbeaten Penn team that finished seventh in the nation. In 1949, he was selected as the Associated Press Lineman of the Week for his play against Navy. At the conclusion of the season, he was selected as a first team All-American by both AP and INS. He was also selected first team All-Ivy League, All-East and All-Pennsylvania. He played in the 1950 East-West Shrine game and the 1950 College All-Star game. He was awarded the Marion Brown Grace award and was voted the MVP of Pennsylvania. In 1950, he played for the Baltimore Colts, and from 1951 to 1955, he was left guard for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was also drafted by the St. Louis Browns major league baseball organization. He coached for Villanova University and Lafayette College, and for the Pottstown Firebirds. In 1969, he was selected by the Philadelphia Inquirer as a first team member of the All-time All-Pennsylvania team and in 1999, was named by his alma mater to the first team All-Century football team. He was inducted into the Liberty High School Hall of Fame, Penn Hall of Fame, Pennsylvania State Hall of Fame, Northeastern Pennsylvania Hall of Fame and the Shriners East-West Hall of Fame. He was one of the founders of Bethlehems Pearl Harbor Remembrance ceremonies, and served as officer of the day for the United Veterans of Bethlehem during Memorial Day ceremonies. He was an active volunteer for the American Cancer Society in its program Cansurmount. He was a lifelong member of the Boys Club fraternity and was the recipient of the alumni award in 1986. He served as the Director of Parks and Public Property for the city of Bethlehem and was the regional director for the State Department of Revenue. He was a member of Ss. Simon and Jude Catholic Church, Bethlehem. He was president of the Regular Fellows Organization. Survivors: Wife; sister, Patricia, wife of Joseph Faillone of Fountain Hill; son, Michael, president of Bethlehem City Council, and his wife Annette of Bethlehem; daughters, Anne, wife of Atty. George Berg of Whitehall, Libby, wife of Jack Geyer of Hellertown, Stephanie, wife of Gene Kratzer of Bethlehem; grandchildren, Rob, Jack and Michael Schweder, Alexis Berg, Erin Berg Minnich, Barrett and Meghann Geyer, Ryan and Avalon Kratzer. Services: 9:15 a.m. Monday, Connell Funeral Home Inc., 245 E. Broad St., Bethlehem, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. Monday in Ss. Simon and Jude Catholic Church, 730 W. Broad St., Bethlehem. Visitation, 2-4 p.m. and 6-9 p.m. Sunday in the funeral home. Contributions: May be made to Ss. Simon and Jude Catholic Church.