Jan Swerlein

1947 - 2022

News story
By Mike Sigov
Blade staff writer

BOWLING GREEN - Jan Swerlein, a longtime railroad engineer and Little League baseball volunteer coach, died Wednesday at McLaren St. Luke's Hospital, Maumee. He was 75.

He died after being sick on and off for about five years, apparently of congestive heart failure, his wife Kathy Swerlein said. He had diabetes and kidney problems, his sister, Shirley Swerlein, said.

Mr. Swerlein retired in 2007 from what is now CSX Transportation after 42 years, mostly as an engineer.

"He was very proud working for the railroads," Kathy Swerlein said. "He definitely loved his job."

Mr. Swerlein worked in the greater Toledo area, primarily at a Lake Township railroad yard, where he started as a fireman right out of high school before getting promoted to engineer a few years later. He also was a yardmaster for a time.

A highlight of his career came on Aug. 31, 1996, when he was chosen to be and then was the engineer on the train that took President Bill Clinton from Toledo to Bowling Green during his presidential campaign. The two shook hands, his wife said.

"It was one of his proudest moments," his wife said. "He was excited about it."

Mr. Swerlein also volunteered for 35 years, until a couple of years ago, to coach area Little League baseball teams at Carter Park in Bowling Green. Most recently, he also held practices at his Bowling Green residence where he built an official-size baseball diamond he called "the Field of Dreams."

"He dedicated all his energy, money, and talent to his teams," his wife said. "He always told them to have fun while playing and that having fun was more important than winning. And he was always trying to instill confidence in them."

His sister agreed with her, adding that he also took his teams out on occasional field trips to American League baseball games in Cleveland and Detroit.

In 2018, he was inducted into the Bowling Green Youth Baseball Hall of Fame.

Mr. Swerlein was also a ranked Professional Bowlers Association player. In 1982, he received a Bowling Green Bowling Association Hall of Fame Award "for bowling achievements."

He was born on Feb. 27, 1947 in Tampa, Fla. to Esther and Don Swerlein.

In 1965, he graduated from Bowling Green High School and then worked in Walbridge for what then was Pennsylvania Railroad for a time before volunteering in 1966 for the Ohio Army National Guard.

Mr. Swerlein then served with the National Guard for about a year stateside before returning to his railroad job.

In his free time he enjoyed bowling, dining out, and watching television, especially the History Channel, the National Geographic Channel, 1960s television shows, and the Wheel of Fortune. He was an avid fan of the New England Patriots, New York Yankees, and the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Along with his wife of seven years, Kathy Swerlein, surviving are his daughters, Jacquelyn Ellis, Jamie Thompson, and Nicole Dauterman; sons, Jeremy Thompson and Chris Williams; sister, Shirley Swerlein, and eight grandchildren.

Visitation will begin at 11 a.m. Friday at the Deck-Hanneman Funeral Home, 1460 W. Wooster St., Bowling Green, where a celebration of life ceremony will immediately follow at 1 p.m.