Francis Stanley Swienckowski passed away peacefully Monday, April 28, at Munroe Regional Medical Center in Ocala, Florida. He had been struggling with respiratory problems brought on by various cancers. He had wanted to leave us the day before, but he was convinced to hang on another 36 hours so that family could fly in and say goodbye.
“What’s the schedule?” he asked. His son, Steve, explained:
7:00am you see the doctor
1pm Margaret arrives
3pm Jason, Sun, John and Carol
6pm you say goodbye to Mark, Denise, Jennifer 8pm you say hello to Saint Peter
After many tears and lots of laughs, he told us “go and lead a good life” and we left him at 8pm with his daughter Margaret by his side. Shortly after that, he removed his oxygen mask and by 9:30 he was gone (we texted Saint Pater that he’d be late). It was a peaceful and painless end to his 77 years.
Frank was born August 8, 1937, in Reading, PA. After a brief stint in the Air Force, he graduated from Temple University with a pharmacy degree (much like his father before him).
In the Sixties, he worked as a salesman for the Upjohn Company and he owned and operated a model slot car center. Then, he began a 12-year career working as a pharmacist and manager for Thrift Drug stores.
In 1981 he left Thrift to concentrate on a retail business he and his wife purchased in 1979: The Christmas Barn in Bethlehem, PA. The two of them transformed it from a seasonal business into a thriving, year-round gift and furniture entity that dominated the Lehigh Valley retail scene for nearly thirty years.
He retired to The Villages, Florida, in 2007. A big kid at heart, Frank loved the Villages and the lifestyle it epitomizes.
He married Sarah Bench in 1959. Sally and he had four children (including a Flounder Felon and the inventor of the belt). They also had more than a dozen grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. His favorite son was Mark (according to Mark).
In his younger days, Frank was a skilled and avid woodworker. He was a prolific gadget collector. He ALWAYS enjoyed golf.
On Wednesday, the family celebrated his life with friends at Frank and Sally’s first Villages home on Madero Drive. Apple-tinis for everyone!
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the American Cancer Society.