Alvin George Schwarting

Funeral Services for Alvin Schwarting age 90 of Oakdale will be 10:30am Monday, February 23, 2015 at the Church of Christ in Oakdale with Pastor Paul Dittmer, Officiating. Burial will be in Oakdale Cemetery. Visitation will be Sunday, February 22, 2015 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm at Beyer Snider Memorial Funeral Home in Neligh. Alvin George Schwarting age 90 passed from this life peacefully at Antelope Memorial Hospital in Neligh February 19, 2015. He was the son of George Henry and Etta Mae (Wetzel) Schwarting born January 31, 1925 on a farm south of Oakdale. He graduated from Oakdale High School with the class of 1942. He was a ball play and spent time helping on the family farm. Alvin was baptized into Christ at Oakdale Church of Christ. He had intended to go to school at the Ottumwa, Iowa School of Evangelism but, the draft called him and he served his country in the medical branch of the Army for 2 years at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. He married Zella Escritt on September 28, 1952 at the Church of Christ in Neligh. They celebrated their 62nd anniversary in September of 2015. They made their home in Oakdale where he started preaching for the Churches of Christ at Oakdale, Tilden, and Battle Creek for 3 years. He didn't go to Bible College but, used the Bible to get his sermons. When it came time to have a funeral home he didn't quite know how to do it. So, he bought a ministers manual. When he got home he found the that the part he needed was missing from the manual. He said "I'll just have to do the best I can with the help from the funeral director. Before, he retired from preaching he had performed 167 funerals. He also had 41 weddings. He hauled children to Bible Camps and Rallies and would take his summer vacations helping in Daily Vacation Bible School and teaching in Church Camps. He served on the Oakdale School Board for six years. He preached at the Oakdale Church of Christ for 30 years. He was on the Oakdale cemetery board for many years. He was also a member of the Oakdale Fire Department and served as secretary. He worked for the Soil Conservation Service out of Neligh surveying and building dams and terraces all over the county. He received many awards for a number of things at this time. He worked 30 years for the Soil Conservation Services.
Alvin and Zella are the parents of eight children: Susan and Clifton Babcock of Creighton, Stephen and Vickie of Neligh, Craig and Jane of Park Hills, KY, Julie and Terry Ward of Norfolk, Mark and Cathy of Lincoln, Tom and Teresa of Norfolk, Nancy and Michael Gaeta of Omaha, Terry and Lillian of Omaha. 18 grandchildren, 4 step grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, 4 brothers, 2 sisters, one daughter Paulette, and 2 grandsons.