Bea "Bonnie" Schwab

I was born November 4, 1922, in Nowata, Oklahoma, the youngest of ten children. We were raised in a Christian home, members of the Methodist Church, and our home was always filled with laughter and singing accompanied by the piano and violin. There was beauty everywhere. If you go back to visit now, you are a stranger in your old back yard; tall buildings on the horizon interlaced with ribbons of highways. In my early childhood we lived on a large ranch where my father baled hay as feed for the cattle he was raising. I enjoyed riding horses, but my main interest was reading. My early dream was to be an aviatrix, but at the age of 15, that dream was thwarted. I graduated from high school in 1941, and in September, I was to go to Talaquah, Oklahoma, Indian College. However, as fate would have it, I met Walter Leon Schwab at a church social and, after a short courtship, on August 19, 1941, we eloped. And so went my college plans. On September 7, 1942, our son Walter Joseph was born. We were renting an apartment in Tulsa, Oklahoma, owned by Seventh-day Adventists, wonderful examples of Christian characters. After several months, as we became better acquainted and friendships blossomed, seeds of truth, such as a loaf of homemade whole wheat bread and a Signs of the Times magazine, were planted. I was an avid reader and we began to talk of spiritual matters which led to Bible studies. I was baptized in 9-10 months, shocking my family. Walter was baptized six months later. Not long after we were baptized, Walter was drafted and was off to war for two years. He was in the Philippines on the island of Luzon, and later, in 1944, he was in the city of Manilla, I believe. While Walter was overseas, Elder Fordyce Detamore and company came to Tulsa for a six month campaign. During the campaign, I worked with twelve ministers and four ladies, and was given about 65-70 homes to contact, an overwhelming experience for me, a new convert. When Walter returned after the war, we were off to Southern Missionary College where he graduated in 1950 with degrees in business, education, and religion. I attended one summer session, but mostly attended to little Joey. We moved to Florida in 1950 where Walter practiced his profession as an accountant. In 1952, we built our first home on Sherrington Road in Orlando where we lived for thirteen years. Then in 1965, we built our home on a few acres in the (then) country, at 5078 Lake Sparling Road. As I write this, I have lived in the home for fifty years. The Central Church of Seventh-day Adventist in Orlando was Walter's and my "home away from home". Walter was a member there for 54 years until his death in 2004, and my membership is still there. Walter is very well remembered, among other things, as the "official" greeter, welcoming all as they entered the church on Sabbath mornings. I loved being a participating member and was greatly involved in church work, such as Pathfinders, choir, church board and as a deaconess. Walter's and my favorite time while helping in Pathfinders, was the trip we took to Cuba, a trip that Joey still remembers fondly. My hobbies were reading, knitting, quilting, refinishing furniture, gardening, swimming and collecting poetry. Two of my favorite poems are "Amazing love, how can it be, that thou, my God, should die for me", by Charles Wesley and "IF", by Rudyard Kipling (I remember reciting "If" to the Kiwanis Club and the Rotary Club when I was fifteen years old). My favorite Bible verses, Psalms 91 and 121, are embedded in my mind and I recite them frequently for the peace and comfort they afford. I chose nursing as my profession (I was president of my nursing class for two years), and I'm certain that God guided me in this choice. My nursing career, which involved general floor nursing and private duty nursing, was a great blessing and enjoyment to me. And it was great for my family as I was able to arrange my own schedule. One of the greatest enjoyments of my life was singing for twenty three years with Winter Park's Bach Festival Society Choir and Orchestra. I sang alto and it was a thrill to be a participant in the music of the great "Masters". Walter and Joey attended many of the concerts that we gave. A great sadness befell our family on January 16, 1973. Joey and his wife Sherril Nix had a beautiful daughter, Gina Lynn, but she was stillborn. Joey cried, "I didn't even get to hold my daughter", and I cried, knowing the joy we would be missing having that precious little baby in our lives. Walter died December 30, 2004, after a long bout with cancer, ending our beautiful marriage of 63 years. Telling him goodbye was the hardest thing I ever had to do in my life. My son Joey has been such a blessing to me all these years since his death. I have been "keeping the Faith", looking forward to being reunited with Walter and baby Gina Lynn in heaven.