Riley 1961 Louis Swedarsky

MADISON - Louis Herman Swedarsky, age 69, passed away on Thursday, June 27, 2013.

Louis was born on July 26, 1943, in Chicago, Ill. He was adopted 8 days later by loving parents, David and Belle Swedarsky in South Bend, Ind. Louis grew up with his two brothers, Sheldon and Leonard. He often shared fond memories of helping his dad in the family grocery store. In high school, Louis was active in the drama club and participated in several musicals and plays. He received his undergraduate degree from Indiana University in History (1968) and later two Master's in education from UW Madison (1977 & 1978). In 1968 Louis started teaching social studies at East High School in Madison. He later became an Assistant Principal and the District High School Summer School Principal in 1974. Louis retired from East in 2001, after 33 years serving the District. He derived great satisfaction from knowing the Diploma Completion Program he helped develop resulted in producing over two thousand graduates. Louis was also active in the Madison Jewish Community.

He leaves his wife of 40 years, Julie (Solomon) Swedarsky; his daughter, Sarah (David) Gillette of Green Bay, and three grandchildren, Donald Louis, Paige Louise and Matthew Julian Gillette; and son, David Swedarsky of Madison. He is also survived by brothers, Sheldon (Donna) Swedarsky of Indianapolis, Ind., (children, Mitchell, Jeffery and granddaughter, Sophia) and Leonard (Lois) of South Bend, Ind. (children, Liza, Lisa, Lila, Lenny, Leonard Jr. and grandchildren), as well as brother-in-law, Joel (Jessie) Solomon (children, Ladd (Alissa), Kay, Lucy and Edward). He was preceded in death by his parents, David in 1984 and Belle in 2012.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday, June 30, 2013, at TEMPLE BETH EL, Madison. Burial will take place at Forest Hill Cemetery with a luncheon following at Temple Beth El. The family will be receiving condolences at Temple Beth El at 4 p.m. and at the family home on Monday evening

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Respected educator, student advocate and history buff Louis Swedarsky — whose 33 years with the Madison School District included 23 as assistant principal at East High School — died Thursday. He was 69.

Born in Chicago and raised by adoptive parents in South Bend, Ind., Swedarsky studied history at Indiana University.

He later left a job at the State Department when he was named a Woodrow Wilson Scholar, earning a scholarship that would lead him to UW-Madison to earn two master’s degrees, his wife Julie said.

“He was a very bright man, very intellectual,” she said. “He came from a family that did not have a lot of money, so this was like a gift to him.”

Swedarsky began teaching social studies at East in 1968 and six years later became the school’s assistant principal. He was named Wisconsin Assistant Principal of the Year in 1992 and Madison School District Principal of the Year in 1985 and 1992.

The district’s summer school principal for 27 years, Swedarsky also founded Madison’s diploma completion program to help students graduate by attending night school.

“He was one of the main cornerstones of East in terms of history and making

change,” his close friend and longtime East High principal, the late Milt McPike, told the Wisconsin State Journal when Swedarsky retired in 2001.

Each year when his daughter Sarah asked what he wanted for his birthday or Father’s Day, Swedarsky requested a five-page essay about why she loved him so much, she recalled. At age 28, she finally obliged.

“I think he was just a born teacher,” his wife said. “He loved seeing his students succeed, and he had a good relationship with a lot of them. A lot of them he didn’t because he was a tough guy — but he wanted just the best for them.”

Swedarsky loved American history. He was also a member of the “Madison Philosophical Society,” a poker group that has played together for more than three decades.

Despite long-term health issues, Swedarsky played with the group the night before he died, she said.

Swedarsky, a member of Temple Beth El who during his retirement worked to secure more Jewish burial sites in Madison, considered himself “a true East Sider,” his wife said.

“We bought our house because it’s barely a mile from East High,” she said. “We bought it 36 years ago as a starter house, and we’re still here.”

A funeral service for Swedarsky will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday at Temple Beth El, 2702 Arbor Drive.

jmc 27 nov 2017