Earl Schawang , age 91, passed away peacefully in his sleep early Tuesday morning, December 3, 2024, in Falls City Nebraska. Earl was born on May 12, 1933, in the family farmhouse north of Rulo Nebraska. His father, Nick Schawang, and his mother, Katherine “Katie” Frederick Schawang, moved their family to the area called Mattsville, three miles south of Barada Nebraska, when Earl was three years old. He attended the Arnold country school, district 24, through eighth grade. In 1948. the family moved to a farm one mile east of Falls City where he made his home for the last 76 years.
Earl was drafted into the Army on June 25, 1953. After basic training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, he served as a medical corpsman in an Army hospital in France. His military discharge was on May 12, 1955, which happened to be his 22nd birthday. He arrived home on May 13 and was already planting corn the next day. On April 5, 1956, he married Leatha Yvonne Randall at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Rulo. Four children were born to this union: Kathy, Sandra, and Randy, along with Elizabeth who died at birth.
He and Yvonne were dedicated parents as well as active community volunteers. Earl was a member of the Falls City Rural Fire Department for twenty years, being called to many house, field and business fires as well as to the Braniff plane crash in 1966. He was a regular at the Red Cross bloodmobile and had donated 19 gallons of blood before a health condition ended both his blood donations and his firefighter role. Earl also got a license to sell real estate in the 1960’s but after five years he decided that being a salesman wasn’t for him. He served on the Richardson County Planning and Zoning Board and was always willing to share his opinions on local policies.
Earl often introduced himself as a “professional gambler” then would reveal that’s how he considered farming. After the 1999 harvest, he cut back on his farming activities, trusting nephews to carry on the heavy work in his fields, and he became a black jack dealer at Casino White Cloud for over twenty years, until to his disappointment, the table games were replaced with electronic versions. He maintained his card playing skills by finding gaming tables at other nearby casinos while also maintaining lifelong friendships with the coworkers and customers he met at the casino.
Earl was a fourth-generation member of Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Falls City. He was on the parish council for several years and served on the Catholic Cemetery board. He spent many years as the Bingo caller for the parish’s weekly Bingo games and developed many friendships that survived after Bingo ended.
Until age interfered Earl enjoyed hunting and fishing, but his greatest pleasure throughout his life was talking to all the people he would happen to see around town. He was delighted to be greeted as anything from “Uncle Earl” (even by non-relatives) to “Onery,” and would happily visit for an hour or more with anyone who would stop to talk to him. Throughout his 91 years, he welcomed new experiences and traveled with Yvonne and family members to most of the lower 48 states, many national parks, and trips abroad to Israel, Italy, Ireland and western Europe. His favorite trips to talk about were a cruise from California to Florida through the Panama Canal, and taking Yvonne in 1991 to see the European sites that he first visited in 1954 in the Army.
Right up until the weeks before his cancer diagnosis in July, he was healthy and active, discussing the planting season with his nephews, taking road trips around the Midwest, celebrating Independence Day with family, and attending the wedding of his youngest grandson in the same church where he married Yvonne 68 years earlier. After a surprising fall led to news of bone cancer, Earl required surgery on both legs that left him immobile. For the remaining months of his life, Earl was both entertained and comforted by his many visitors and by his caretakers at Falls City Care Center.
Earl is survived by three children: Katherine Perkins, living in the family farmhouse, Sandra Schawang of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, Dr. Randall Schawang of David City, Nebraska, and his daughter-in-law Melinda Schawang. Other survivors are his grandsons Joseph Peterson, Dawson Schawang and Hayden (Caitlin) Schawang, granddaughter Jenna (Ryan) Didier, and great grandchildren Makenzie and Derek Didier. Earl is also survived by his sister Mary Jane Lampe Weinert and many cherished nephews, nieces, and cousins.
He was preceded in death by his wife, his parents, Nick and Katherine Schawang, brothers John Schawang and Paul Schawang, sisters Edna Michel and Ruth Gruber, along with aunts, uncles, nephews, in-laws and other relatives who made the final journey before him.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, December 14, 2024 at 10:30 AM at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church with Father Jim Meysenburg as the presiding priest. Interment will be in Falls City Catholic Cemetery. Military graveside honors by Falls City Ceremonial Honor Guard.
A Parish Rosary will be recited on Friday at 7:00 PM at Dorr and Clark Funeral Home. The family will receive friends following the rosary
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be directed to the Sacred Heart School Endowment Fund, the Falls City Rural Fire Department, the Falls City Ambulance Squad, the Richardson County Historical Society, the Richardson County Humane Society, or the Butler County Fair Foundation. All of these organizations held a special role in Earl’s life.
