Charles Richard Schweitzer, 91, died on April 12, 2014. Services will be held on Wednesday, April 16, at 2:00 at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 10th and Locust Streets, Dubuque. Burial will be at Linwood Cemetery. Friends may call at the church before the service beginning at 1:00. The Egelhof, Siegert & Casper Westview Funeral Home and Crematory, 2659 JFK Road is in charge of the arrangements.

Mr. Schweitzer was born on February 7, 1923, in Hannibal, Missouri, son of Samuel and Rosa (Jackson) Schweitzer.

He graduated from Hannibal High School in 1940 and attended Hannibal LaGrange College, Iowa State University, and the University of Missouri. He graduated from the University of Missouri in 1944 with a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering. He was awarded membership in Pi Tau Sigma and Tau Beta Pi, both honorary scholastic Engineering Fraternities.

He entered the US Navy in 1943 and was commissioned as an officer in the USNR at Annapolis in 1944. He served on Navy Minesweepers in the pacific area, losing aYMS-47 to a mine explosion in Borneo.

On January 31, 1945, he married Mary Edith Cox, his high school sweetheart, in Hannibal, Missouri. They had three daughters; Constance, Deborah, and Pamela.

He joined the John Deere Dubuque Works in December 1946 in the Industrial Engineering Department. In 1952, he was appointed supervisor of that department.

In 1954, he was transferred to Deere Dubuque Navy Aircraft Landing Gear facility where he served as division superintendent. In 1957, he and his family were sent to Mannheim, Germany, where he spent a year as an engineering consultant at the Deere/Lanz plant.

He was assigned as Production Superintendent (1958) and Mechanical Superintendent (1962) at Dubuque Works. He was subsequently promoted to Manager of Manufacturing and Plant Engineering. He held this position during the rapid plant expansion of the 1970s. After 38 years of service, he retired in March 1984

Mr. Schweitzer was a Charter Member of the Junior Achievement Program in Dubuque and was responsible for procuring the initial operating facilities. He served on numerous JA assignments, including a stint as president.

He was a long-time member of First Congregational UCC, joining in 1954. He served as Moderator, Trustee, and Deacon at various times. In 1972, he was Chair of the Trustees and actively supported and oversaw the addition of the Education Wing. After retirement, he joined a church group of retirees, known as Spruce Up and helped maintain and up-grade the Church buildings and property.

When his family was young, they enjoyed house boating on the Mississippi, spending many weekends and vacations on the river. He maintained this interest throughout his life, always having some kind of boat on the river. His enjoyed woodworking and carpentry and was proud to help his children build or up-grade their homes.

Surviving are his wife of 69 years, Mary Schweitzer of Dubuque; three daughters, Constance (Don) Cherba and Deborah (Don) Otto of Dubuque, Dr. Pamela (Brandt Richardson) Schweitzer of Monona, Iowa; four grand-daughters, Jennifer (Brent) Schwan of Austin, Texas, Mary (Chris) Ashkar of San Diego, California, Valerie (Chris) Loewenberg and Elizabeth (Justin) Kuhle of Dubuque; eight great-grandchildren, Samuel and Joseph Ashkar, Lillian, Hayden and Gwenyth Loewenberg, Gunner, Harvey, and Norman Kuhle. He was proceeded in death by his parents and a sister, Lucille Schweitzer.

Memorials may be given to the First Congregational UCC Endowment Fund.