[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 86 (Thursday, June 19, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1262-E1263]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING JOSEPH ANTHONY SWANICK

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JON D. FOX

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 19, 1997

  Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an 
outstanding individual and honored constituent, Joseph Anthony Swanick, 
who died recently in his Montgomery County, PA, home with his family 
all around him. I mention this, Mr. Speaker, because the fact that he 
was surrounded by those he loved the most, his family, is typical of 
the way he lived his life and was certainly the way he would choose to 
die.
  During his 78 years on Earth, Joseph Swanick achieved much for which 
he could be proud. However, his greatest pride and joy came in the 
accomplishments of his wife, Catherine, and his two children, Patrick, 
born in 1957 and Anthony, born in 1960.
  Joseph Anthony Swanick, a retired business owner and hospice 
volunteer, died on Monday, June 2, 1997, at 2 a.m. of complications due 
to emphysema and heart disease at his home in Penllyn, PA. But how he 
died is not nearly as important as how he lived his extraordinary life.
  Mr. Swanick, a decorated veteran of World War II, was born on 
February 9, 1919, in Philadelphia to Harry and Molly Swanick. After 
graduating from Northeast Catholic High School, Mr. Swanick attended 
the University of Pennsylvania for 1 year before volunteering to serve 
in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.
  Stationed in Tibenham, England, during the war as part of the 445th 
Bomb Group, he participated in numerous air raids on Germany and the 
Nazi occupied territory as a waist gunner in a B-24 Liberator. Briefly 
injured during the war, Mr. Swanick returned to the United States after 
his tour of duty was completed. He received numerous decorations 
including the Distinguished Flying Cross, for his wartime service.
  In his comments and reflections about his father during the funeral 
mass, Tony Swanick, who serves as my press secretary and has been my 
friend for many years, talked about his father's bravery. Citing John 
F. Kennedy's book, ``Profiles in Courage'', in which President Kennedy 
chronicled the lives of American statesmen who stood up for their 
beliefs against great opposition, Tony reminded us that ``courage has 
many faces and heroes can come from anywhere.''
  ``To me, my Father was a hero, in many ways--a `profile in courage.' 
He was honest and kind. He lived his Roman Catholic faith as best he 
could. He loved his family with a passion I've never seen equaled. * * 
*'' Tony noted that the heroics of war came relatively easily for Joe 
Swanick. He, along with other brave, young Americans conquered that 
fear in their youth while defending our Nation against Nazi oppression, 
tyranny, and inhumanity. ``But,'' Tony added, ``the bravery of self 
sacrifice was something nurtured throughout a lifetime and perfected 
for his family's sake. He was the most selfless man I've ever known.''
  Mr. Swanick attended and graduated Temple University where he earned 
an associate degree in business. Later in life, when his

[[Page E1263]]

sons were looking at college with some apprehension, he again attended 
classes at Temple University just to show them that they had nothing to 
fear. Both went on to college.
  In September 1952, Joseph Swanick married Catherine M. McCall with 
whom he has shared his life since. Together they raised their two 
children and taught them the lessons, morals, and ideals which would 
stay with them throughout their lives.
  After working as a salesman for Colonial Beef Co., Mr. Swanick 
founded his own wholesale meat business, Joseph Swanick Inc., in 1960 
and remained in business until his retirement in 1984. Because he was a 
man who believed in doing what was right, Joe Swanick refused to sell 
to country clubs and places he knew discriminated against blacks or 
Jewish people. Also, during financial recessions, he would take meat 
and other items from his own business and deliver it secretly to 
members of his church who had nothing to eat. As a father and teacher, 
he brought his children with him to learn the importance of performing 
charitable works while avoiding the spotlight.
  ``He taught me tolerance,'' Tony Swanick said, ``that it is okay if 
you disagree with people or don't even understand them. But, it is not 
okay to hate them or persecute them for it. From him, I learned to open 
my mind to new experiences and people who were different and close my 
heart to bigotry and intolerance.''
  Joseph Swanick also helped his children discover the beauty of our 
Earth by taking them on trips to locations throughout the world. But he 
also taught them to find the beauty within themselves and to trust in 
their own abilities. Mr. Speaker, we here in Congress often discuss the 
fact that too many children in America are neglected or abused. Here 
was a man who taught his children the importance of self worth every 
day.
  Mr. Swanick and his family lived in the Elkins Park section of 
Abington Township, Montgomery County, for more than 20 years before 
moving to the Penllyn section of Lower Gynedd Township. Throughout his 
life, Mr. Swanick remained active in his church parish beginning with 
St. Stephens in North Philadelphia and including St. Dennis in 
Havertown, Delaware County. Much of his life with his family was spent 
at the Montgomery County parishes of St. Jame's Roman Catholic Church 
in Elkins Park and St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Ambler.
  Following his retirement from the wholesale meat business, Mr. 
Swanick worked as a courier for the Montgomery Publishing Co., 
publisher of numerous weekly newspapers. Ironically, at the same time, 
his son, Tony, was an award-winning reporter for the newspapers. Mr. 
Swanick also believed in giving back to the community in much the way 
his wife and two sons did.
  He was active as a volunteer for Wissahickon Hospice, based at 
Chestnut Hill Hospital, for more than 5 years, serving as a companion 
for numerous terminally ill patients in Philadelphia as well as 
Norristown and various other Montgomery County communities. His role 
was to ease the burden and emotional distress for both the patient and 
the family during the patients final months of life. He dedicated much 
of his free time to helping others--a Swanick family trait. His wife, 
Catherine, organized and ran a group called Birthright which promoted 
adoptions. Pat was involved in numerous charities he organized at St. 
Joseph's University. And Tony worked with me to co-found the Montgomery 
County AIDS Task Force and to create a public health department for 
Montgomery County. He still serves on the board of trustees of 
Norristown State Hospital.
  Joe Swanick loved to bring comfort to the ill through Wissahickon 
Hospice and, perhaps he knew he would need the services of hospice 
himself as his life came to a close. For the last 6 months, he received 
outstanding homecare from the Montgomery Homecare/Hospice based at 
Montgomery Hospital.
  But, the real care came from his family, Pat and his wife Diana, Tony 
and particularly Joseph's wife, Catherine, who was by his side every 
minute providing him with the best medicine he could have, a warm hand 
on his, a smile, a prayer. ``Dad always said `I got me a good one,' '' 
Pat said. ``And he was right.'' Catherine and Joe Swanick took vows to 
care for each other for better or for worse, in sickness and in health 
and they did just that until in death they did part.
  Mr. Speaker, when Joe Swanick died, hundreds came to bid him 
farewell. There were people from his grade school and his high school. 
The brave men who flew with him in B-24 Liberators in World War II were 
also represented as were those who worked for him. Members of 
Wissahickon Hospice who worked with him to care for others were joined 
by those from Montgomery Hospice who, ultimately, cared for him until 
his death.
  Joe Swanick's death was not an easy one. In the end, he could barely 
draw a breath and his heart was weak, perhaps because he gave so much 
of it to others. Still, despite his pain and discomfort, his family was 
foremost in his mind. Catherine, Pat, Diana, and Tony gathered around 
him on his last day on Earth and prayed for him, cried for their loss, 
sang to him, held his hand, and made certain he left this world feeling 
loved. But to the end, Joe Swanick was selfless.
  ``In one of my last conversations with my Father before he became too 
ill to speak,'' Tony Swanick said. ``He pulled me close and told me he 
wished there had been more he could have done for me during his life. 
Can you believe that? This man who gave me everything I value was lying 
there * * * staring at death * * * barely able to draw a breath * * * 
and when he did, he didn't use that breath to ask me to help him or to 
make him more comfortable. He used that breath to tell me that he 
wanted to do more for me! To do more for me * * *.'' Mr. Speaker, even 
at the threshold of death, Joe Swanick put his family first.
  Joe Swanick had an incredible wit, loved to tell a good story, was 
quick with a laugh, and a smile and was for his family the embodiment 
of humanity, kindness, compassion, understanding, and love. but the 
consensus at his death was that Joe Swanick wasn't really gone forever. 
Before he died, Catherine reminded him, ``You know Joe, up in Heaven, 
you'll have a whole new audiences for your World War II stories.'' Pat 
said he could see a glimmer in his father's eyes when he imagined the 
possibilities.
  Joe Swanick was proud of his family and would be quick to tell anyone 
about them--whether or not they wanted to hear it.
  ``In fact,'' Pat said, ``I've envisioned the scene in Heaven this 
week over and over again. I can see Dad saying:

  `Saint Peter, wait `til you meet my wife, Cass. She's the best!' or
  `Saint Peter, did I tell you about my trip to Cleveland last summer 
to visit Pat and Diana?' or
  `Saint Peter, have you ever been to Washington for Christmas? We 
visited Tony there last year during the holidays * * *.'

  I can just see those conversations going on up there. I just hope 
Saint Peter doesn't get too tired of hearing about us and he still lets 
us in when our time comes.''
  Pat noted that his father was a Christian, faithful in his duties to 
God and his church. He was a patriot, flying nearly 30 wartime missions 
in World War II. He was an entrepreneur, ``he always like this word--he 
said it was a fancy word even if he didn't know how to spell it.'' He 
was a volunteer, dedicating his time to others in need.
  ``Dad was a good friend and neighbor and a devoted husband,'' Pat 
said. ``His best role, and perhaps I'm a bit biased, was simply being a 
dad. He was real good at it * * * the best. He made a difference and 
we're all better off for having known him.''
  Pat is right, Mr. Speaker. I know this family well and I know they 
were all devastated by this great loss. It was a loss to Montgomery 
County and the entire Delaware Valley as well as to everyone whose 
lives Joe Swanick touched. Joseph Swanick practiced family values 
before someone turned the phrase into a weapon to attack those who were 
different.
  Tony Swanick summed it up when he noted that many of us, in our 
youth, try so hard to be different from our parents. ``Now,'' he said, 
``I've spent much of my adult life wishing I was more like them. To my 
dad * * * my friend * * * I can say only this. Yours is the most 
elegant soul I've ever known. Yours is the biggest heart I've ever 
seen. Yours is the most loving and gentle spirit I have ever 
encountered. You are the finest man I have ever known and we will miss 
you more than words could ever say. But now, it is time for you to be 
at peace with God. And so, I must say `farewell' my Father, my friend. 
Farewell.''

                          ____________________