116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Obituaries
The Gazette publishes obituaries on a daily basis. Use the search field above to search for obituaries by name or keyword. Readers can submit an obituary or submit a milestone to The Gazette. The obituary must be submitted before 1 p.m. for publication on thegazette.com at 6 p.m. and in the daily edition the next day, with the exception of obituaries for Sunday publication, which must be submitted by 1 p.m. on Fridays.
Swenka, Edward R.
Edward R. Swenka, 94, Cedar Rapids, formerly of Oxford, died Saturday morning, April 27, 2013, at the Solon Nursing Care Center. Funeral Mass: 2 p.m. Wednesday at Saint Wenceslaus Catholic Church by Father Christopher Podhajsky. Burial: St. John's Cemetery. Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Papich-Kuba Janeba Chapel West, 1604 J St. SW.
Edward is survived by six children, Keever (Gloria) Swenka, Solon, Ardis (David) Sevcik, Frisco, Texas, Dennis (Linda) Swenka, Morse, Becky (Robert) Kaefring, Lakeville, Minn., Carol Swartz, North Liberty and Charles Swenka, Cedar Rapids; sisters, Emily (Norbert) Wagner and Leona Evans, both of Iowa City; 21 grandchildren; 34 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-granddaughter.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary; a son, Glenn; a granddaughter, Darla Jean Sevcik; three sisters, Elsie Tomash, Mabel Novotny and Marie Just; and three brothers, Clarence, William and Kenneth Swenka.
Edward was born June 17, 1918, in rural Oxford, the son of Paul and Mary (Shebetka) Swenka and grew up in the Oxford-Tiffin area. He married Mary B. Klima on May 1, 1943 at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids. Mary died April 26, 1997. Ed farmed in the North Liberty area from 1950 to 1956 and then moved to a farm near Oxford, where he continued to farm from 1956 to 1992 when he retired and he and Mary moved to Cedar Rapids. Throughout his many years of farming, he was a dairy farmer for 35 years from 1950 to 1985.
Ed was an Army Air Corps veteran of World War II and was awarded three Bronze Stars. While living in the Oxford area, he was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church where he sang in the choir. In Cedar Rapids, he was a member of St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church. Ed was a member of American Legion Hanford Post 5 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 788 both in Cedar Rapids.
Ed and Mary loved to dance, especially the polka. He also enjoyed playing cards, euchre being one of his favorites, fishing, traveling and most of all spending time with his family.
Military graveside services will be conducted by American Legion Post 727.
A memorial fund has been established in Ed's name.
Online condolences may be left for the family at under “obituaries.”
Published in The Gazette April 29, 2013.
Daily Newsletters