Rosary services for James D. Swartz, 76, of Lompoc, will be held 5 p.m. Sunday, November 11th at the chapel of Starbuck-Lind Mortuary in Lompoc. A funeral mass will be held at 12-noon Monday, November 12 at La Purisima Catholic Church with Rev. Tom Cook officiating. Burial with military honors will follow at the Lompoc Evergreen Cemetery.

Jim passed away at home peacefully in his wife's loving arms early Tuesday morning, on November 6th following a lengthy battle with pulmonary fibrosis and rheumatoid arthritis. "Jim" the youngest of six children, was born December 19, 1935 in Salamanca, New York to Frank and Agnes (Novak) Swartz. He was very proud to say he was a first generation American since his dad was born in Poland. Upon his graduation from Salamanca High School, he enlisted in the U.S. Marines Corp. and served during the Korean War. When he returned home, he was employed by Loblaw Foods Co. and attended Fredonia State University in Fredonia, New York. On July 2, 1960, he married the love of his life, Sonja Chamberlain. They have two sons, Mark and Mike. The young Swartz family moved to Tucson, Arizona where Jim was able to complete his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Social Studies and Education at the University of Arizona. The next stop on their westward migration was Lompoc where the Lompoc Unified School District hired Jim as an elementary teacher in the Gate Program at Los Berros Elementary in 1964. In 1997, he retired from the same school district and as Principal of Los Berros School having made a complete circle. During the years between the beginning and the end, he taught at most of the elementary schools in Lompoc and worked with the G.E.D. program and supervised student teachers and was on the District Job Interview team. During his tenure, he earned a Masters Degree in Education from Fresno State University and General Administrative Credential from Cal Poly (SLO). Jim was a consummate educator in everything he did and kept imparting his wisdom to anyone till the day he died. He was respected and loved by his family, friends, co-workers, students and their parents. Although the saying "Once a Marine – Always a Marine" is true, Jim joined the Air Force Reserves and enjoyed a second career simultaneously with his teaching career. He retired from the Reserves in 1997. Community service was a large part of Jim's life. When his boys were young, he coached their teams in Little League Football and AYSO Soccer. He completed both the Lompoc Police and Sheriff's Civilian Academy Programs, and was appointed a member of the Lompoc Safety Commission. He belonged to the American Legion Post 211, was a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus, and a Life Member of the Lompoc Elks Lodge. During his retirement years, he volunteered with the Community Kitchen Program at La Purisima Church, and the Sansum Medical Clinic Auxiliary. To his own delight and that of the staff and patients at Sansum, he loved being "Santa" during the holidays. As a docent, he enjoyed being the "Leather Man" by day or a "Padre" during Candlelight Programs at the La Purisima Mission. One of Jim's favorite hobbies was fishing. He fished the Central Coast waters whenever he could. But Seward, Alaska became his love and he had great stories to tell. Jim also loved to play in the dirt and raised great quantities of tomatoes and was always willing to share his harvest.

Survivors include his loving and devoted wife, Sonja; sons, Mark (Vicky) of Lompoc and Mike of Santa Barbara; grandchildren, Tamera (A.J.) Hernandez, Christine Swartz, Sonja Janos, Lynn Janos, Tina Linderholm (Danny); great-grandchildren, Cienna and Adrian Hernandez, Anthony Janos, Jarrod Chavoya and several nieces and nephews and his ever faithful "furry" companion "Pep".

He was preceded by his parents; his siblings, Elizabeth and John Zochowski, Paul, Carl, and Richard Swartz; daughter-in-law, Dawn Swartz, and a nephew Jacky Zochowski.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Msgr. McGrath Scholarship Fund c/o La Purisima Catholic School, 213 West Olive Street, Lompoc 93436. Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis, 10866 West Washington Blvd. #343 Culver City, CA 90232. Prelado De Las Tesores (Mission) 2295 Purisima Road, Lompoc, CA 93436 or Retired Teachers Scholarship Fund, CalRTA Div #17 c/o 916 Nan Court, Santa Maria, CA 93454-3151