Delores Ochsner Swider

Delores Louise Ochsner was born 25 September 1928 to Louise Schlichenmaier Ochsner and Othon H Ochsner, the 1919 Swiss pursuit cycling champion. Her father was a Swiss Chef at the Saddle & Cycle Club and Biggs Restaurant in Chicago while her mother took care of the family and worked at Walgreens.
As a young girl, she attended Ravenswood Baptist Church where she accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior.
Delores attended McPherson Elementary School and Amundsen High School in Chicago. Delores always wanted to go to Wheaton College but did not have the resources, so she attended Wright Jr. College in Chicago. She went on to attend Northern Illinois University where she graduated with a B.A. in Education. While at Northern, she met the love of her life, a football player named John Swider.
They were married on August 25, 1951. They began their married lives as teachers in the Chicago Public Schools. They had three children; John Jr. born in 1953, Michael Ochsner born in 1955, Nancy Louise born in 1956.
John and Delores moved to Park Ridge in 1956 and began attending South Park Church. It was through the prayers and life of Delores, as well as the influence of Pastor Pat Patterson, that John Sr. accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior.
Her beloved husband went to be with his Savior in 1991. Since then, she made a conscious effort to keep his memory alive in the hearts of her children, her 9 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren.
John Jr. became an architect and builder/contractor of luxury homes. Michael became the head football coach at Wheaton College. Nancy Louise became a 4x Olympic Speedskater.
Delores worked as a substitute teacher to help support our family. In 1981 she began working at her brother's business, Ochsner International, and continued into her 80s.
She lived in Park Ridge until 1995 when she moved to to be closer to her three children in Wheaton where John Jr. remodeled both the homes in which she lived.
Some of her greatest memories were made in Bull Shoals, Arkansas where the family spent summer vacations beginning in 1968. After John Sr. passed away son Mike continued taking her there until 2012 when she could no longer camp.
Captiva Island, Florida was her winter dreamland where John Sr. initially took her in 1989, and Nancy continued to take her until she couldn't travel in 2020. She traveled to the Olympics in Austria, Lake Placid, Sarajevo, Calgary, and Vancouver.
As everyone knows, she was exceedingly proud of her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Her love for them was immense as she never missed an opportunity,mostly driving herself to watch them at school award and concert nights, graduations, and sporting events.
Delores fought the good fight in her last 15 years battling arthritis, joint replacement surgeries, and a failed back surgery.
She waterskied into her 70's, proudly rode her bike (like her father) along Lake Michigan and swam in Lake Michigan until she was 80. She faithfully worked out at the Wheaton College Fitness Center until she was 90, drove her Jeep until she was 90 and lived in her own home until she went to her home in heaven.
Her greatest desire that she repeatedly expressed verbally and in writing, was that her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren all come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
Dad would have been proud of you Mom. You stayed tough.
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7
She is survived by her children Michael (Nancy) Swider & Nancy (Jeff Peltz) Swider-Peltz, Sr.; her grandchildren: Jessica Swider (Olivier) Drolet, John "Josh" (Jessica) Swider III & Jackie Swider; Justin (Renee) Swider, Mikey (Katie) Swider, & Hannah (River) Shindledecker; Nancy (Danny Puknaitis) Swider-Peltz Jr., Jeffrey Swider-Peltz & Johnny (Katie) Peltz; her great-grandchildren: Liana & Elodie Tardif-Drolet; John IV & Jayden Swider; JJ, Urijah, Stryker, Haven & Phoenix Swider; Lyla & Halle Swider; Forrest Shindledecker; Boaz Swider-Puknaitis; and Tenley Peltz. Also survived by her brother-in-law Charles Mefferd and her nieces & nephews: Betty-Gene Johnson, Catherine Johnson Larson, Karen Normandy, Dorene Johnson, Eugene Johnson & Charles Mefferd II.
She was preceded in death by her husband John Lawrence Swider, Sr. and her son John Lawrence Swider, Jr.
A memorial service will be held at College Church in Wheaton, 332 E. Seminary Ave., Wheaton, IL 60187 on Monday, February 17, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. A livestream will be available here: https://youtube.com/live/ghNv0pO_qmI
A private burial will be held at Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois.
Memorial gifts may be directed to the Mike Swider Wheaton Football Endowment Fund or Wheaton Football Ministry Partnership Fund.
Family and friends may sign a guest book at hultgrenfh.com. For more information, please call Hultgren Funeral Home at 630-668-0027.