Harry Karl Schwarzweller

Bloomfield - Harry Karl Schwarzweller died on October 3, 2022, at FF Thompson Hospital in Canandaigua, in the presence of family. Harry was 92 and is survived by his loving wife, Elizabeth (Purdy); sons, Paul (Linda) and Thomas (Patricia); and daughter, Erica. Grandchildren include Luke, Adam, Alan, Kyle, Eric, and Anna.
Harry was born in Brooklyn, New York to emigrant parents, Karl and Bertha (Frey), and began their family at a most chaotic time in America. Harry's birth corresponded with the onset of the Great Depression, a time in America that was difficult for many families. Harry's German family came from a tiny farming hamlet called Talheim, located in southern Germany.
Harry grew to love farming and agriculture and attended Newtown High School in Queens for a vocational agricultural program. Harry was awarded a scholarship to Cornell University to study extension education and animal husbandry. During his summer breaks from Cornell, Harry worked as a summer 4-H assistant and through these activities met his future wife, Elizabeth Purdy.
After graduating in 1951, Harry worked as an extension agent and in 1952 was drafted into the Marine Corps and served two years at the Naval Retraining Command in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Harry was honorably discharged from the Marines in 1954 and returned to Cornell to earn his Masters degree in rural sociology in 1955.
Harry was awarded a Fulbright Student Fellowship that led to a year of research in agricultural extension in New Zealand. And in 1958, Harry was awarded a PhD in rural sociology. Harry married Elizabeth Purdy in August 1958 in Canandaigua and shortly afterwards accepted a teaching appointment at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Harry's three children were all born in Lexington. In 1964, Harry was awarded a research sabbatical that was used for a year's residency in his ancestorial German town of Talheim.
From Kentucky, Harry brought his young family to the University of West Virginia in Morgantown in 1968 where, as a Professor of Sociology, Harry taught and researched farm family migration and life. In 1972, Harry transferred to Michigan State University in East Lansing where he remained until his retirement as a Professor Emeritus.
Harry and Elizabeth returned to New York in 2010, purchasing a rural home in Bloomfield close to relatives and family. Harry had a wonderful and fulfilling life and touched a great many people through the years. Harry will be missed and remembered.
A celebration of life will be held at a later date. The family ask that you please consider donations honoring Harry Schwarzweller be made to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Canandaigua 3024 Cooley Road Canandaigua, NY 14424. Arrangements are by Johnson-Kennedy Funeral Home, Inc., Canandaigua. Condolences may be offered at www.johnsonkennedy.com